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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — a group
  7. clip — a video
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. club — for golf
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — for dancing
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chip — for betting
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chip — in a computer

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