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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. net — in sport
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. net — after costs
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spell — a short time
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. row — to paddle
  10. spell — letters
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. net — for catching
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. spring — the season
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. lie — to recline
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. row — a line
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spring — of water
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. spell — magic

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