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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — to grow
  4. land — ground
  5. kid — child
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. charge — in control
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. charge — a price
  10. fall — the season
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. fall — to drop
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fall — to drop
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. land — a country
  20. date — the fruit
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. land — to come down
  24. kid — to tease

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