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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. saw — the tool
  3. scale — in music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. land — a country
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. land — to come down
  11. rash — a series
  12. saw — the tool
  13. squash — to crush
  14. band — a ring
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. content — the amount
  18. rash — hasty
  19. kid — child
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. content — happy
  22. squash — the sport
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. land — ground

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