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: chair · net · bulb · spring · bark · race · band · rule

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. band — a ring
  3. spring — the season
  4. bark — to shout
  5. net — for catching
  6. rule — government
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spring — a coil
  9. band — a music group
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — humankind
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. race — a contest
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rule — a law
  22. race — the arms race
  23. net — after costs
  24. spring — of water

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