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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mug — a face
  3. tube — the underground
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rash — hasty
  9. race — humankind
  10. club — a group
  11. mug — to rob
  12. club — for golf
  13. clip — to cut
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mug — a cup
  16. march — the month
  17. wax — to grow
  18. race — a contest
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rash — a series
  22. clip — a video
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. march — music

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