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: game · hand · bowl · bear · plane · fall · stick · march

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. march — the month
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. march — music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bear — the animal
  18. plane — a tool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fall — the season
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. hand — part of the body

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