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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · kid · rule · band · track · kick

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. track — a song
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rule — a law
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kid — child
  8. band — a ring
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rule — government
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — in football
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — a path
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kick — with a leg

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