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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. last — final
  3. clip — for paper
  4. march — the month
  5. rock — music
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — steady
  8. last — finally
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — to go on
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. clip — a video
  13. march — the month
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. firm — a company
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. march — music
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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