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: bass · march · last · field · wind · object · cap · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bass — the fish
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — to go on
  8. field — farmland
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. march — the month
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. object — a thing
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. bass — low music
  17. object — to protest
  18. march — music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cap — of ice
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cap — a lid
  23. object — an aim
  24. wind — moving air

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