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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. shower — to wash
  4. net — after costs
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. branch — a division
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. net — in sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pound — a weight
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. shower — rain
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. net — for catching

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