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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. plane — a tool
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bear — the animal
  6. shower — rain
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. shower — to wash
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cap — a hat
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. hand — in cards
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. content — happy
  22. cap — a lid
  23. content — the amount
  24. kid — child

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