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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. clip — a video
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — all right
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. root — the cause
  17. wax — to grow
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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