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: band · swing · game · sharp · cold · cabinet · pound · mine

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. swing — music
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. band — a music group
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a match
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — an illness
  18. swing — to play on
  19. band — a ring
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. swing — in golf

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