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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — low music
  3. bound — obliged
  4. lean — thin
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. land — ground
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. land — to come down
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. band — a ring
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bound — certain
  16. pit — in a race
  17. lean — to bend
  18. rash — a series
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. land — a country
  21. band — a music group
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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