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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. present — the time now
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. press — newspapers
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stock — goods
  8. present — there
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. press — to push
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a cake
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. roll — a list
  19. present — a gift
  20. wax — to grow
  21. shower — to wash
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stock — shares
  24. shower — rain

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