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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. march — the month
  3. fork — in a road
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. march — the month
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pit — a hole
  14. date — the fruit
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bore — to tire
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pit — in a race
  19. game — a match
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. spell — magic
  23. march — music
  24. game — wild animals

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