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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pound — a weight
  11. last — finally
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — final
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. snap — to click
  17. kid — child
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. band — a music group
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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