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: fork · hand · land · wound · roll · band · cue · straw

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — for pool
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. land — to come down
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. land — a country
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cue — a signal
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. band — a music group
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — ground
  22. roll — a list
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. roll — a cake

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