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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. capital — a city
  3. cap — a lid
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cap — a hat
  7. march — the month
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. drill — a practice
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. capital — money
  13. cap — of ice
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. drill — army training
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. march — music
  20. fork — in a road
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — the tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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