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: bear · pitch · march · saw · wind · rash · squash · clip

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wind — moving air
  8. saw — the tool
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rash — hasty
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bear — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pitch — completely

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