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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. club — a group
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. row — a line
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — to grow
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kid — to tease
  17. club — for golf
  18. tube — a container
  19. kid — child
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tube — the underground
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. row — to paddle
  24. tube — in a tire

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