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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. band — a ring
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to click
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rest — what's left
  11. saw — the tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. present — the time now
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. band — a music group
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. present — there
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. present — a gift
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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