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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. land — a country
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. land — to come down
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cue — a hint
  9. shower — rain
  10. land — ground
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cue — a signal
  15. spell — magic
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. spell — a short time
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — letters
  23. ground — the earth
  24. shower — to wash

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