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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pop — to visit
  8. stem — to come from
  9. hand — help
  10. pop — music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pop — soda
  19. spring — the season
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. patient — a sick person

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