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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. file — a tool
  6. roll — a list
  7. band — a music group
  8. rest — a break
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. file — a line of people
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rest — what's left
  13. track — a song
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rest — what's left
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a ring
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. track — a path
  24. file — a document

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