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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. band — a ring
  3. suit — in cards
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rest — a break
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mate — to breed
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pass — a permit
  13. bark — to shout
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mate — a partner
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. suit — clothes
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. suit — to fit
  23. band — a music group
  24. land — to come down

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