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: scale · march · fork · spell · season · straw · cell · coach

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — in a road
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spell — letters
  13. scale — in music
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. spell — magic
  22. scale — size or range
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. march — music

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