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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. band — a music group
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bound — tied together
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tube — the underground
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — certain
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — help
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bound — obliged

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