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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. race — a contest
  5. wax — to grow
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. last — final
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. race — the arms race
  11. branch — a division
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — humankind
  14. last — finally
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — a city
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spring — a coil
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. straw — a straw man

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