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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — soda
  6. band — a music group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pop — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. kid — child
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spring — of water
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. kid — to tease
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fork — a garden tool

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