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: tear · kid · march · bat · fine · bank · ground · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bat — the animal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ground — a position
  9. bank — for money
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. march — the month
  13. bank — of a river
  14. fine — all right
  15. march — the month
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. tear — from crying
  19. season — of the year
  20. march — music
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bat — for baseball

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