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 120 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 · cold · band · foot · bowl · mouse · wound · club

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. foot — a measure
  6. land — a country
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. land — ground
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. land — to come down
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. club — a group
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. band — a music group
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cold — an illness
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. club — for golf
  24. band — a rubber band

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