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 120 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: cold · ball · trunk · season · capital · mouse · board · spring

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. spring — a coil
  3. season — of the year
  4. capital — a city
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ball — a great time
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. season — in sport
  19. ball — a dance
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mouse — the animal

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