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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. content — the amount
  5. face — part of the head
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. spell — letters
  10. content — happy
  11. wax — to grow
  12. face — to confront
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spell — magic

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