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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. band — a ring
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. spring — a coil
  8. ball — a great time
  9. last — finally
  10. bass — the fish
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. spring — the season
  15. face — part of the head
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. spring — of water
  20. bass — low music
  21. band — a music group
  22. face — to confront
  23. ball — a dance
  24. land — a country

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