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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. land — to come down
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. spell — magic
  7. rock — music
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. snap — to click
  13. race — the arms race
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rock — a stone
  18. race — humankind
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. race — a contest
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. spell — letters
  24. wake — a trail

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