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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. can — to be able to
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. race — the arms race
  9. net — in sport
  10. hand — in cards
  11. net — for catching
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wax — to grow
  14. race — a contest
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. can — a tin
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — after costs
  22. can — a tin
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. race — humankind

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