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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. land — a country
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — ground
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wax — to grow
  9. row — a line
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. land — to come down
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. fork — in a road
  17. content — the amount
  18. cap — a hat
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. content — happy
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — a lid

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