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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bat — the animal
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fall — the season
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. toast — bread
  14. fall — to drop
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wax — to grow
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. shower — to wash
  19. branch — a division
  20. shower — rain
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cell — a phone

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