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: bulb · straw · land · bowl · last · band · cold · rock

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. last — final
  5. land — to come down
  6. last — finally
  7. land — a country
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bulb — for light
  14. land — ground
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bulb — for light
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. last — to go on
  24. bowl — to roll

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