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: bat · stock · band · plane · roll · march · bound · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bound — tied together
  4. plane — a tool
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bound — certain
  7. band — a music group
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. march — the month
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. stock — shares
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — music
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bound — obliged
  19. roll — a list
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stock — goods
  24. cell — in biology

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