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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pit — in a race
  3. kid — child
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pop — soda
  12. field — a subject
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pit — a hole
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pop — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — obliged
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bound — certain
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. bound — tied together

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