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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — to tease
  4. swing — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — the month
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. swing — in golf
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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