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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. march — the month
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — finally
  6. capital — money
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. land — a country
  11. tear — from crying
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tear — to rip
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. last — to go on
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. last — final
  21. land — ground
  22. spell — a short time
  23. land — to come down
  24. tear — from crying

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