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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. field — a subject
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kid — child
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fall — the season
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pit — a hole
  12. last — to go on
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bass — low music
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — finally
  18. bass — the fish
  19. last — final
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. field — for sport
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. fall — to drop
  24. trunk — of a tree

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