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: game · cold · firm · track · band · tube · craft · straw

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tube — the underground
  3. firm — decided
  4. tube — a container
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. game — wild animals
  7. firm — a company
  8. band — a music group
  9. track — a song
  10. craft — a skill
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. track — to keep track
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. firm — steady
  18. craft — boats
  19. track — a path
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. band — a ring

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