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: ball · season · bear · pitcher · rest · straw · march · squash

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rest — a break
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. march — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. season — in sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. season — of the year
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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