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: fall · swing · wind · patient · face · track · march · cold

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fall — the season
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. swing — in golf
  6. track — a song
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — not warm
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wind — moving air
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — an illness
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. face — to point toward
  19. swing — music
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. face — to confront
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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