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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hand — in cards
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — crushed
  10. drill — army training
  11. band — a music group
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. ground — a position
  14. track — a path
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — help
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. drill — the tool
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. drill — a practice
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — an explosive

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