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: land · board · tear · bark · stand · wound · lie · band

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. board — to get on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — ground
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a music group
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. land — to come down
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. land — a country

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