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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. band — a music group
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — a grade
  10. capital — a city
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — the tool
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. mark — a trace
  20. capital — money
  21. bulb — for light
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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