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 120 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. capital — a city
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. spring — the season
  8. object — to protest
  9. stem — to come from
  10. object — an aim
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. hand — help
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. spell — letters
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. spell — magic
  19. object — a thing
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spring — of water
  23. capital — money
  24. stem — of a plant

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