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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. spring — of water
  4. bound — certain
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cue — a hint
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pound — a weight
  9. race — a contest
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. race — humankind
  13. game — a match
  14. cue — for pool
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. game — wild animals
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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