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

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fall — the season
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fall — to drop

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