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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cue — a hint
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. fork — in a road
  8. last — final
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. race — a contest
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. race — the arms race
  16. court — of a king
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. last — to go on
  20. cue — a signal
  21. band — a music group
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. last — finally
  24. race — humankind

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