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: pit · leaves · cold · kid · fork · club · land · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — a country
  4. fork — in a road
  5. kid — to tease
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. pit — a hole
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. club — for dancing
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. cold — not warm
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. land — to come down

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