ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. hand — help
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. stem — to come from
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. march — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. swing — music
  13. race — the arms race
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. swing — to play on
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. race — humankind
  20. kick — in football
  21. race — a contest
  22. swing — in golf
  23. hand — in cards
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com