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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. tube — a container
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. capital — a city
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. capital — money
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bulb — for light
  19. tube — the underground
  20. swing — music
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stand — on your feet

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