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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. squash — to crush
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mine — for digging
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. straw — a straw man

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