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: straw · bass · rule · mine · deal · shower · band · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. sharp — with an edge
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a ring
  6. mine — for digging
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. shower — rain
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. band — a music group
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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