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

Word bank: scale · march · kid · patient · last · cell

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — a phone
  7. scale — in music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. march — music
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cell — in biology
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. patient — a sick person

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