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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cue — a hint
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. spring — the season
  9. cue — for pool
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. band — a music group
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — hasty
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. degree — an amount
  18. band — a ring
  19. spring — a coil
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rash — a series
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. spring — of water

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