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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. present — there
  5. band — a music group
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a ring
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spell — letters
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. spell — a short time
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chair — a leader
  23. spell — magic
  24. bear — the animal

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