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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. field — for sport
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. field — a subject
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — farmland

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