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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. branch — a division
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bore — to drill
  15. sharp — clever
  16. clip — for paper
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. saw — the tool

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