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: wind · cue · lie · foot · game · march · degree · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — the month
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cue — a hint
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — final
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — a signal
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — an amount
  16. march — music
  17. lie — to recline
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cue — for pool
  22. game — a match
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. game — a kind of play

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