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: mouse · march · wind · cap · chest · swing · cue · land

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cue — a signal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cap — a lid
  7. march — music
  8. chest — a box
  9. wind — moving air
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. land — ground
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. swing — music
  20. march — the month
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chest — of your body
  23. march — the month
  24. cue — for pool

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