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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. band — a music group
  10. race — humankind
  11. fall — to drop
  12. race — a contest
  13. fall — to drop
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. board — to get on
  16. rash — a series
  17. wax — to grow
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rash — hasty
  20. race — the arms race
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fall — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. board — a committee

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