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: spring · band · chest · bank · game · chip · wind · season

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. band — a ring
  4. spring — of water
  5. game — wild animals
  6. season — of the year
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chip — for betting
  12. game — a match
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — the season
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — in sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. chest — a box
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bank — of a river

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