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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. march — music
  3. squash — the sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. clip — for paper
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bank — for money
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bank — for money
  14. squash — to crush
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bank — of a river
  17. race — the arms race
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — a hat
  21. pitch — completely
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — of ice
  24. clip — a video

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