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 · roll · bay · pit · swing · clip · jam

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. march — music
  10. swing — music
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. clip — for paper
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. march — the month
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. roll — a list
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. swing — in golf

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