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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. club — a group
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cap — a lid
  15. row — a line
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. shower — rain
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bat — for baseball

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