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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bank — for money
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fork — in a road
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. band — a music group
  15. bank — for money
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — crushed
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. ground — a position
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bank — of a river

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