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: face · march · tube · bat · date · rock · spell · kid

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. kid — to tease
  3. spell — magic
  4. face — to confront
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spell — letters
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tube — a container
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — the underground
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rock — music
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. date — the fruit
  17. march — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — child
  21. face — part of the head
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. face — to point toward
  24. rock — a stone

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