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: rest · band · hand · root · wave · cold · spell · present

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. present — there
  3. band — a music group
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — magic
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. root — the cause
  13. band — a ring
  14. present — a gift
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rest — a break
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. present — the time now
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hand — help
  24. root — of a word

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