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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — a gift
  6. stock — goods
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. ball — a great time
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ball — a dance
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stock — shares
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. clip — a video
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — an illness
  24. present — there

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