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: shower · staff · march · band · cold · jam · mark · current

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. shower — rain
  10. current — happening now
  11. staff — employees
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — an illness
  15. staff — employees
  16. march — music
  17. current — of water
  18. staff — a stick
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. march — the month
  22. current — electric
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cold — not warm

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