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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — from crying
  5. net — for catching
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. last — final
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. net — after costs
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. march — the month
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — to come from
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. tube — a container
  22. last — finally
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. stem — a stem cell

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