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 120 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. foot — a measure
  4. march — music
  5. fork — in a road
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. march — the month
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. march — the month
  17. capital — a city
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — money
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. clip — for paper
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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