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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mug — a cup
  8. net — for catching
  9. spring — a coil
  10. net — in sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mug — a face
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wax — to grow
  17. fall — the season
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spring — of water
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. spring — the season
  23. band — a ring
  24. net — after costs

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