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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. last — to go on
  3. bore — to drill
  4. march — music
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. band — a ring
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. last — final
  11. cell — a phone
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bore — to tire
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. file — a document
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cell — in biology
  24. march — the month

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