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 116 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. stem — to come from
  4. band — a ring
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — low music
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant

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