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: spring · last · fall · court · branch · drill · capital · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. last — finally
  4. fall — the season
  5. race — humankind
  6. drill — a practice
  7. branch — a division
  8. court — of a king
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — the season
  11. capital — a city
  12. court — for sport
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — to go on
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. spring — of water
  17. last — final
  18. court — of law
  19. drill — the tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. drill — army training
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. spring — a coil
  24. capital — money

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