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: bay · date · field · band · hand · snap · march · lash

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. march — the month
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. field — a subject
  14. march — the month
  15. field — farmland
  16. band — a music group
  17. march — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — in cards
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. band — a rubber band

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