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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — temperature
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. squash — the sport
  11. plane — a tool
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — moving air
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. scale — in music
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wind — moving air
  22. scale — size or range
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. scale — for weighing

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