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: drill · nail · current · capital · fork · march · wind · spring

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. current — electric
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — a practice
  5. current — happening now
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spring — of water
  11. capital — money
  12. drill — the tool
  13. current — of water
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — a city
  21. march — music
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. drill — army training
  24. nail — for a hammer

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