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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. fall — to drop
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. perch — the fish
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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