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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mate — a friend
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. present — a gift
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. present — the time now
  13. file — a tool
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a partner
  17. field — a subject
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. present — there
  20. saw — the tool
  21. deal — to handle
  22. field — farmland
  23. cold — an illness
  24. field — for sport

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