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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. face — to point toward
  3. band — a ring
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. shower — rain
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. march — music
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. swing — in golf
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. swing — music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. band — a music group
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. march — the month

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