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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. march — the month
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. field — a subject
  11. game — wild animals
  12. scale — in music
  13. game — a match
  14. band — a ring
  15. snap — to click
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. scale — size or range
  22. march — the month
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. march — music

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