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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chest — a box
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fork — in a road
  7. row — a line
  8. hand — help
  9. chest — of your body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. press — to push
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. press — newspapers
  20. march — music
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ruler — for measuring

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