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 taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. board — a committee
  3. squash — to crush
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — a line
  9. bore — to drill
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. drill — the tool
  13. board — to get on
  14. shower — rain
  15. band — a music group
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bore — to tire
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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