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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wax — to grow
  3. last — to go on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. row — a line
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cap — a lid
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cap — of ice
  14. kid — child
  15. tube — the underground
  16. kid — to tease
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. row — to paddle
  20. last — finally
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. content — the amount
  24. wax — in the ear

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