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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rock — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mug — a face
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mug — to rob
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wax — to grow
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — a trail
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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