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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bore — to drill
  3. race — a contest
  4. snap — to click
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ground — the earth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. march — the month
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. bore — to tire
  13. race — the arms race
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ground — a position
  17. march — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — to go on
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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