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: chest · craft · band · saw · row · rule · degree · bat

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — from a university
  13. row — a line
  14. band — a ring
  15. bat — the animal
  16. band — a music group
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rule — a law
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rule — government
  24. chest — a box

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