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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. toast — bread
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cold — not warm
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. band — a music group
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. can — to be able to
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fall — the season
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bat — the animal
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. can — a tin
  21. fall — to drop
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

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