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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. charge — electricity
  7. hand — in cards
  8. tear — to rip
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a music group
  12. charge — a price
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lean — thin
  21. swing — music
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. charge — in control
  24. swing — in golf

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