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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. present — a gift
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. scale — size or range
  8. present — there
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. track — to keep track
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. kid — child
  24. wax — to grow

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