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: land · cap · plane · march · chest · pitcher · rush · stand

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cap — a hat
  3. chest — a box
  4. land — to come down
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. land — a country
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. march — music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. chest — of your body
  17. land — ground
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. stand — to bear
  21. plane — a tool
  22. march — the month
  23. stand — on your feet
  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