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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. band — a music group
  3. chest — a box
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. drill — army training
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. march — music
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. march — the month
  10. pound — a weight
  11. drill — a practice
  12. capital — money
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. capital — a city
  20. chest — of your body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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