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 120 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. branch — a division
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rash — a series
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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