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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — the season
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — of water
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. march — music

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