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 · wound · race · branch · ball · cold · face · shower

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — the arms race
  7. branch — a division
  8. wound — an injury
  9. shower — to wash
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. race — a contest
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — part of the head
  16. shower — rain
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a ring
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. face — to confront
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cold — not warm

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