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 124 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wound — an injury
  3. deal — to handle
  4. march — music
  5. file — a line of people
  6. season — of the year
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a tool
  11. net — in sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. season — in sport
  14. file — a document
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. drill — a practice
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. net — after costs
  20. drill — the tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. march — the month
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — a big deal

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