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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. land — a country
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. roll — a list
  6. charge — a price
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. charge — electricity
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. game — a match
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. land — to come down
  15. prune — to trim
  16. charge — in control
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wax — to grow
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. land — ground
  23. dip — to sink
  24. game — wild animals

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