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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. march — the month
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kick — in football
  11. field — a subject
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. march — music
  22. field — for sport
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. field — farmland

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