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 120 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: chest · march · land · suit · lash · mine · scale · pitcher

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. suit — clothes
  6. land — to come down
  7. suit — to fit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. land — ground
  10. suit — in cards
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. march — the month
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — a country
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mine — for digging
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — the month

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