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: cell · band · bear · mine · face · board · wound · land

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. board — a committee
  3. cell — a phone
  4. board — to get on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. band — a music group
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bear — the animal
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — ground
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. land — a country
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. band — a ring

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