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 116 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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. pass — a permit
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. court — of law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. land — a country
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. court — for sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. band — a music group
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fall — the season

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