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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rock — music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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