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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. suit — clothes
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chest — of your body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. band — a music group
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. suit — to fit
  21. cell — in biology
  22. suit — in cards
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chest — a box

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