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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bass — the fish
  11. band — a ring
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. band — a music group
  15. rock — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fine — all right
  21. branch — a division
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cabinet — ministers

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