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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. scale — in music
  5. club — for golf
  6. file — a tool
  7. current — happening now
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. current — of water
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wax — to grow
  13. hand — help
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. club — for dancing
  16. current — electric
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. club — a group
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. file — a document
  24. prune — to trim

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