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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. spring — a coil
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lie — to recline
  10. clip — a video
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. spring — of water
  15. wax — to grow
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. net — after costs
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. net — for catching
  23. spring — the season
  24. lie — an untruth

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