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: drill · bowl · capital · band · cold · fork

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. drill — a practice
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. capital — a city
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. band — a music group
  13. drill — army training
  14. capital — money
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. drill — the tool
  18. band — a ring

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