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: arm · perch · march · cold · rest · field · rule · drill

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rule — government
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — not warm
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — army training
  10. field — a subject
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — for sport
  14. march — music
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — the month
  19. perch — the fish
  20. drill — a practice
  21. rest — a break
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. field — farmland

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