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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spring — the season
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. band — a music group
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bark — to shout
  15. spring — a coil
  16. swing — to play on
  17. spring — of water
  18. mine — for digging
  19. last — final
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. band — a ring
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. ball — a round shape

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