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 120 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. tube — a container
  10. fall — to drop
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stock — shares
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — not warm
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. fall — the season
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — to drop

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