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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bank — of a river
  3. last — final
  4. root — of a word
  5. march — music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — child
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. root — the cause
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. root — of a plant
  20. last — to go on
  21. rock — a stone
  22. march — the month
  23. last — finally
  24. bank — for money

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