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: bark · squash · land · pop · straw · band · bass · tube

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pop — soda
  4. land — ground
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. land — to come down
  8. pop — music
  9. squash — the sport
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. tube — a container
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bark — to shout
  16. land — a country
  17. squash — to crush
  18. band — a music group
  19. pop — to visit
  20. tube — the underground
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. band — a ring
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bass — the instrument

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