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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. band — a music group
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. cell — in biology
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — to fit
  17. scale — in music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. suit — clothes
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — an illness

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