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: bass · band · chest · roll · hand · kick · drill · pop

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. roll — a cake
  4. drill — army training
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bass — low music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. band — a ring
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bass — the fish
  14. kick — in football
  15. hand — help
  16. chest — a box
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pop — to visit
  24. roll — a list

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