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: spring · chest · march · net · dip · last · lie · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — for catching
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — final
  6. dip — to sink
  7. net — in sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. march — the month
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lie — to recline
  14. spring — a coil
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. spring — the season
  17. last — to go on
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — finally
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. net — after costs
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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