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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cap — of ice
  5. march — the month
  6. game — wild animals
  7. hand — help
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — the month
  15. rash — a series
  16. march — music
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mark — a grade
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rash — hasty
  24. hand — in cards

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