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: straw · drill · cell · cold · band · fork

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fork — in a road
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. band — a music group
  12. drill — army training
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. straw — dry grass

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