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: march · last · capital · cold · spring · trunk · key · stand

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. march — the month
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — finally
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. capital — a city
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stand — to bear
  14. cold — not warm
  15. spring — a coil
  16. key — for a lock
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. last — final
  22. key — in music
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. spring — the season

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