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: season · march · chair · spring · wake · fork · tube · drill

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spring — of water
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. march — music
  10. wake — a trail
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. tube — a container
  22. march — the month
  23. tube — the underground
  24. drill — a practice

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