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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rest — a break
  3. object — a thing
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. object — to protest
  8. kid — child
  9. present — the time now
  10. clip — for paper
  11. object — an aim
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — there
  20. clip — a video
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wax — for sculpting

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