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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. net — for catching
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. field — for sport
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. court — for sport
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — in sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. field — farmland
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. court — of law
  20. scale — in music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. net — after costs
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bowl — a dish

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