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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. charge — a price
  3. game — a match
  4. bulb — for light
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. pound — a weight
  8. charge — electricity
  9. band — a ring
  10. field — farmland
  11. fall — the season
  12. field — for sport
  13. march — music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. band — a music group
  16. field — a subject
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. game — wild animals
  21. charge — in control
  22. bulb — for light
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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