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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · march · wind · toast · spring · cell

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — in biology
  4. toast — bread
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. spring — of water
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. spring — the season
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. face — part of the head
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spring — a coil

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