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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cell — a phone
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitch — completely
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. clip — to cut
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bass — low music
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. craft — boats
  23. land — ground
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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