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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  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. march — the month
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — finally
  4. root — of a word
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. file — a line of people
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. march — the month
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. root — the cause
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. tear — to rip
  14. file — a document
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. file — a tool
  17. march — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. tear — from crying
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  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