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 · mate · stand · march · swing · cold · rash · capital

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — money
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. march — music
  7. rash — hasty
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — a city
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rash — a series
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mate — to breed
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mate — a partner

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