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 116 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: wound · march · bay · coach · tear · lash · season · clip

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. march — music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. march — the month
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — of the year
  18. clip — for paper
  19. season — in sport
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. tear — from crying
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wound — an injury

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