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: band · pass · cold · race · trunk · pit · content · march

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. march — the month
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — the month
  5. content — the amount
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. content — happy
  10. race — humankind
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pass — a permit
  20. march — music
  21. band — a music group
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. race — a contest
  24. band — a ring

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