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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. file — a line of people
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. row — a line
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. band — a ring
  9. land — ground
  10. spring — the season
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spring — a coil
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. land — a country
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. nail — for a hammer

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