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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. current — of water
  7. file — a tool
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. current — electric
  12. current — happening now
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ground — crushed
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. file — a line of people
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. ground — a position
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a document
  24. perch — for a bird

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