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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wax — to grow
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — a video
  9. tear — from crying
  10. drill — a practice
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — the tool
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. staff — a stick

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