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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. chest — of your body
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. chest — a box
  10. season — of the year
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bass — low music
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bass — the fish
  18. drill — army training
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. clip — a video
  21. wax — to grow
  22. season — in sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. season — to add flavour

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