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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — ground
  4. cold — not warm
  5. suit — clothes
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. suit — to fit
  9. band — a music group
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. band — a ring
  12. ground — crushed
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a rubber band

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