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: band · coach · game · net · tear · rest · deal · bat

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — the animal
  7. game — a match
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. deal — to handle
  17. band — a ring
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tear — to rip
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. deal — a big deal

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