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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spring — of water
  4. band — a music group
  5. spring — a coil
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. club — for golf
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kid — to tease
  10. club — a group
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cell — a phone
  13. track — a song
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spring — the season
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. kid — child
  18. bark — to shout
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. track — to keep track
  21. club — for dancing
  22. track — a path
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bark — of a tree

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