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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. face — to point toward
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. roll — a list
  5. hand — help
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. wound — an injury
  8. face — part of the head
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — from a university
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. dip — to sink
  19. degree — temperature
  20. roll — a cake
  21. hand — in cards
  22. foot — a measure
  23. face — to confront
  24. wax — for sculpting

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