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 116 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: band · game · hand · rush · mate · face · bay · cold

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. rush — hurry
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mate — a partner
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cold — not warm
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. band — a ring
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. face — to confront
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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