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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. season — in sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. season — of the year
  10. march — music
  11. last — finally
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. roll — a list
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. land — a country
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. land — to come down
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. land — ground

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