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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. can — to be able to
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. clip — for paper
  15. craft — boats
  16. can — a tin
  17. foot — a measure
  18. clip — a video
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. hand — in cards
  24. can — a tin

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