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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. key — the most important part
  7. game — wild animals
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. present — a gift
  11. firm — steady
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. game — a match
  14. chair — a leader
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rash — a series
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — hasty

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