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: bass · cell · band · cold · snap · charge · safe · march

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — the fish
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. march — music
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bass — low music
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — in biology
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — the month
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. band — a music group

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