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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wax — to grow
  4. court — of a king
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. court — of law
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. shower — rain
  11. court — for sport
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. kick — in football
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. file — a line of people
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bore — to drill
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. kick — with a leg

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