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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. hand — help
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — ground
  8. field — a subject
  9. land — to come down
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — a country
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chip — for betting
  24. nail — on a finger

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