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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. firm — decided
  4. last — to go on
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. firm — a company
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — final
  10. toast — bread
  11. firm — steady
  12. capital — money
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — the month
  15. squash — the sport
  16. last — finally
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. capital — a city
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. squash — to crush

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