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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spring — of water
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. stock — goods
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. toast — bread
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wax — to grow
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cell — in biology
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stock — shares
  24. spring — the season

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