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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bear — the animal
  3. band — a ring
  4. object — an aim
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. game — a match
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — the earth
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — to protest
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — a thing
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ground — a position
  24. game — wild animals

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