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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. face — to confront
  8. cell — in biology
  9. march — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. face — part of the head
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rash — a series
  20. mug — a face
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cell — a phone
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — temperature

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