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 116 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — humankind
  8. court — of a king
  9. drill — the tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. bore — to drill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bore — to tire
  16. court — for sport
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. court — of law
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. drill — a practice
  24. content — the amount

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