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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. last — finally
  3. band — a music group
  4. drill — a practice
  5. band — a ring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — final
  11. cold — an illness
  12. squash — to crush
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. last — to go on
  15. bear — the animal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. snap — to click
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. drill — army training
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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