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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. chest — a box
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. deal — to handle
  17. wax — to grow
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cap — a lid
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bark — of a tree

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