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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. charge — electricity
  3. last — to go on
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. lean — to bend
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. charge — a price
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. last — final
  13. court — of a king
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. clip — a video
  17. bear — the animal
  18. lean — thin
  19. last — finally
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bear — the animal
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. charge — in control
  24. court — of law

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