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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bank — of a river
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — of water
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spring — a coil
  10. firm — decided
  11. bank — for money
  12. band — a ring
  13. clip — a video
  14. band — a music group
  15. clip — for paper
  16. spring — the season
  17. shower — rain
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bank — for money

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