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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · march · hide · club · capital · pop

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. club — a group
  6. march — the month
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. club — for golf
  12. march — the month
  13. pop — to visit
  14. march — music
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fork — in a road
  18. hide — animal skin

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