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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. net — in sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chest — a box
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. ground — a position
  10. kick — in football
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ground — crushed
  13. net — after costs
  14. vault — a safe
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. chest — of your body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. net — for catching
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cold — the Cold War

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