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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. land — to come down
  6. band — a music group
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. ball — a dance
  10. land — ground
  11. rest — a break
  12. board — a committee
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. land — a country
  17. band — a ring
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — what's left

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