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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — a coil
  7. land — a country
  8. board — a committee
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. last — finally
  14. board — to get on
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. spring — of water
  17. degree — an amount
  18. last — to go on
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. degree — from a university
  23. last — final
  24. march — music

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