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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rush — hurry
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. clip — a video
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. wax — to grow
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. pop — music
  21. ball — a great time
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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