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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. squash — to crush
  7. band — a music group
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fine — all right
  16. court — for sport
  17. squash — the sport
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. drill — army training
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. band — a ring
  24. squash — the vegetable

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