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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pop — soda
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. march — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pop — to visit
  13. club — for dancing
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. net — in sport
  18. pop — music
  19. march — the month
  20. net — for catching
  21. march — the month
  22. last — to go on
  23. club — a group
  24. net — after costs

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