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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — the month
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — happy
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. game — a match
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. court — of a king
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a kind of play

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