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: rule · kid · ground · ball · staff · band · land · shower

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. band — a ring
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. land — to come down
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. ground — the earth
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — crushed
  12. land — ground
  13. rule — government
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ball — a dance
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ground — a position
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — rain
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rule — a law
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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