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: cold · bear · tube · pitch · plane · rest · march · mate

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mate — a partner
  7. march — the month
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bear — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rest — a break
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitch — completely
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — the underground
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. mate — to breed

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