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: bowl · present · cap · chair · file · march

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cap — of ice
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cap — a lid
  5. file — a tool
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. chair — a leader
  9. file — a line of people
  10. present — the time now
  11. cap — a hat
  12. march — music
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. march — the month
  15. file — a document
  16. present — there
  17. march — the month
  18. present — a gift

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