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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chest — of your body
  5. row — to paddle
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — a practice
  14. capital — money
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cold — not warm
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cold — an illness
  19. row — a line
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chest — a box

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