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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. clip — a video
  4. court — for sport
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — to bend
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. band — a music group
  9. march — music
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. march — the month
  13. court — of law
  14. season — of the year
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wax — to grow
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lean — thin
  24. season — in sport

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