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: march · chest · content · bat · club · date · pass · snap

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. chest — a box
  2. content — the amount
  3. march — music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — the animal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. chest — of your body
  12. march — the month
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. club — a group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — happy
  23. date — on the calendar
  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