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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — letters
  3. fall — to drop
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. deal — to handle
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a music group
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. content — happy
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. fall — the season
  24. deal — a big deal

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