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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mine — for digging
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. drill — the tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. drill — a practice
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mate — a friend
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — a partner
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. kid — to tease
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — child
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. drill — army training

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