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: fall · coach · march · scale · racket · bat · present · chest

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. scale — size or range
  6. march — music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chest — a box
  14. present — the time now
  15. scale — in music
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. march — the month
  22. present — there
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. march — the month

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