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 120 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: staff · band · hand · kick · last · scale

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. last — final
  2. staff — employees
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. kick — in football
  6. hand — in cards
  7. band — a ring
  8. scale — in music
  9. last — finally
  10. staff — a stick
  11. hand — help
  12. last — to go on
  13. band — a music group
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — employees
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. scale — for weighing
  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