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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bass — low music
  4. clip — a video
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — a series
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. can — a tin
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. can — a tin
  24. clip — to cut

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