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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — to paddle
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. chest — of your body
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pound — a weight
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. row — a line
  13. race — a contest
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. squash — the sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. race — humankind
  24. squash — to crush

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