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 120 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 · bank · arm · plane · ground · march · clip · net

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ground — crushed
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bank — of a river
  5. band — a ring
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. net — after costs
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. march — music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. march — the month
  12. bank — for money
  13. plane — a tool
  14. march — the month
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. bank — for money
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ground — a position
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. ground — the earth
  24. clip — a video

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