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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. content — the amount
  4. saw — the tool
  5. content — happy
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — an injury
  9. file — a document
  10. vault — a safe
  11. march — the month
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. field — a subject
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. march — music
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. band — a ring
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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