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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stock — shares
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. court — for sport
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tube — a container
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stock — goods
  16. cap — a hat
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. spring — the season
  19. vault — a safe
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wax — to grow
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cap — a lid
  24. tube — in a tire

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