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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. game — a match
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. game — wild animals

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