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: game · band · mouse · trunk · bank · land · file · tear

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — to come down
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — wild animals
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. band — a ring
  23. bank — for money
  24. trunk — of a tree

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