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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — a trail
  3. board — a committee
  4. race — humankind
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. ground — crushed
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. ground — the earth
  14. hand — help
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. hand — in cards
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — a position
  22. board — to get on
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

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