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: cold · chest · charge · tube · bulb · date · bass · band

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. date — the fruit
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chest — a box
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bulb — for light
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — in control
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. band — a ring
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — not warm
  24. band — a rubber band

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