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. The water is too ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ball — a dance
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fall — the season
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mug — to rob
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pass — a permit
  23. fall — to drop
  24. coach — a trainer

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