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: mine · present · cell · cold · arm · wound · suit · march

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. present — there
  6. march — the month
  7. present — a gift
  8. march — music
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. suit — in cards
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. present — the time now
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mine — for digging
  21. suit — to fit
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cold — not warm

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