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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. tube — a container
  3. stand — to bear
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. hand — help
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. content — the amount
  17. band — a ring
  18. rule — government
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. tube — the underground
  21. content — happy
  22. shower — rain
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stand — for spectators

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