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: stick · race · band · clip · staff · arm · cold · pop

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — an illness
  4. race — humankind
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. race — a contest
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. race — the arms race
  11. staff — a stick
  12. clip — for paper
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — a video
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pop — to visit
  18. band — a ring
  19. staff — employees
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. clip — to cut

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