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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  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. object — to protest
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mate — a partner
  4. object — an aim
  5. march — the month
  6. swing — to play on
  7. march — the month
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. net — for catching
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. swing — in golf
  15. net — after costs
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bat — the animal
  21. net — in sport
  22. swing — music
  23. object — a thing
  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