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: march · trunk · last · lean · charge · cold · pitcher · cell

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. charge — a price
  4. last — to go on
  5. charge — electricity
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lean — thin
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. march — music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. lean — to bend
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cell — a phone
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. charge — in control
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitcher — a jug

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