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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wax — to grow
  5. band — a music group
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — a subject
  10. band — a ring
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. mate — a partner
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. game — a match
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — wild animals
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. field — farmland
  24. branch — a division

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