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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. lean — to bend
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. staff — employees
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rule — a law
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lean — thin
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. staff — employees
  22. clip — a video
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. lean — to rest against

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