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: bat · tear · race · march · spring · present

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — the arms race
  6. march — music
  7. present — a gift
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — the animal
  12. present — there
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spring — of water
  15. present — the time now
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — a contest

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