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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. firm — decided
  3. ball — a dance
  4. file — a document
  5. firm — steady
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. field — farmland
  8. rash — hasty
  9. band — a music group
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. field — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. firm — a company
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ball — a great time
  21. field — a subject
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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