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: swing · spring · band · cold · present · wound · snap · stand

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. wound — an injury
  3. band — a music group
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. swing — to play on
  6. present — the time now
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. spring — a coil
  12. snap — to click
  13. present — there
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. swing — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. present — a gift
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. band — a ring
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cold — not warm

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