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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mark — a trace
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mark — a grade
  8. degree — from a university
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. kick — in football
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — to shout
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — to turn a key

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