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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. kick — in football
  5. present — there
  6. bass — low music
  7. drill — army training
  8. band — a ring
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wound — an injury
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bass — the fish
  19. drill — a practice
  20. present — a gift
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. swing — in golf

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