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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. track — to keep track
  4. row — a line
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ground — the earth
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. row — to paddle
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ground — a position
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — a country
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. branch — a division
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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