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 · land · lean · band · tube · bark · roll · bass

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. roll — a list
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — to come down
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. lean — thin
  9. land — ground
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — a country
  12. bass — low music
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lean — to bend
  15. band — a ring
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — rain
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bass — the fish
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. lean — to rest against

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