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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. content — the amount
  4. march — the month
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. march — the month
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a music group
  14. content — happy
  15. band — a ring
  16. court — of law
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. march — music
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. plane — a tool
  23. court — of a king
  24. content — videos and posts

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