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 · chest · bowl · rest · rash · vault · clip · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. march — the month
  6. rash — a series
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spring — the season
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — of water
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rest — a break
  18. march — music
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — a safe
  22. march — the month
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bowl — a football final

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