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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. march — the month
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. root — of a word
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — an injury
  9. march — the month
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. root — the cause
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. march — music
  24. root — of a plant

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