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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. band — a music group
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hand — help
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cue — a signal
  13. march — music
  14. band — a ring
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cue — a hint
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cue — for pool
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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