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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. race — a contest
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wax — to grow
  6. clip — for paper
  7. race — the arms race
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chip — for betting
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. race — humankind
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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