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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — to go on
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. march — the month
  11. bank — for money
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — help
  14. fall — to drop
  15. last — finally
  16. fall — the season
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. degree — from a university
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. march — music
  22. last — final
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — in cards

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