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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. game — a match
  3. field — for sport
  4. cap — a lid
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. band — a ring
  13. field — farmland
  14. plane — a tool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. field — a subject
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — an illness
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cap — a hat
  24. ruler — a monarch

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