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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. band — a ring
  4. stock — goods
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mate — to breed
  8. band — a music group
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stock — shares
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bound — certain
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cold — the Cold War

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