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: wound · lie · game · saw · cold · content · band · craft

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lie — to recline
  6. band — a ring
  7. content — happy
  8. wound — an injury
  9. content — the amount
  10. cold — an illness
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. game — a match
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cold — not warm
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a music group
  24. craft — a handicraft

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