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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. band — a ring
  3. bass — low music
  4. capital — money
  5. band — a music group
  6. bass — the fish
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — a city
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. land — a country
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. land — ground
  16. sharp — clever
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — in music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kid — child
  23. land — to come down
  24. kid — to tease

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