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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. ground — a position
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. content — the amount
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. last — to go on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. last — final
  19. content — happy
  20. last — finally
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. court — for sport

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