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: kid · last · mine · wind · mate · march · track · fan

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. march — the month
  3. mate — a partner
  4. last — finally
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. last — to go on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kid — child
  12. track — a song
  13. march — music
  14. kid — to tease
  15. track — a path
  16. mate — to breed
  17. last — final
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. march — the month
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fan — a supporter

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