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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. mate — a partner
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. game — wild animals
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mate — to breed
  10. clip — for paper
  11. game — a match
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mate — a friend
  14. band — a ring
  15. field — a subject
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — music
  18. field — farmland
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rock — a stone
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. field — for sport

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