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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. band — a ring
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. date — the fruit
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. clip — a video
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wound — an injury
  15. roll — a list
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spell — a short time
  18. clip — to cut
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. tube — the underground
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. tube — a container

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