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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tube — a container
  10. march — the month
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. march — the month
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — an illness
  18. club — for golf

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