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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. scale — in music
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ground — a position
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wax — to grow
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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