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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. prune — to trim
  4. present — there
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. squash — to crush
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. prune — the fruit

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