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: stick · bay · march · capital · bat · spring · chair · track

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. march — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — money
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. track — a song
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. capital — a city
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spring — a coil
  23. track — a path
  24. spring — of water

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