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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. game — wild animals
  6. press — newspapers
  7. degree — from a university
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. land — a country
  11. perch — the fish
  12. game — a match
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hand — help
  16. press — a publisher
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — ground
  21. band — a music group
  22. degree — temperature
  23. press — to push
  24. land — to come down

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