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: clip · fork · craft · march · nail · spring · wake · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — a trail
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. craft — boats
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. march — the month
  18. craft — a skill
  19. fork — in a road
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — a video
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. clip — for paper

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