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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. charge — electricity
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spell — magic
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. charge — in control
  22. clip — a video
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. charge — a price

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