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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. pop — music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — to cut
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pop — soda
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. squash — to crush
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pop — to visit
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — a video
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cell — a phone

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