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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. band — a music group
  3. last — to go on
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bound — obliged
  6. band — a ring
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — a video
  9. last — final
  10. saw — the tool
  11. game — wild animals
  12. last — finally
  13. clip — for paper
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wound — an injury
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — a match
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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