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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. row — a line
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. prune — to trim
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group

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