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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to drill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — to grow
  5. land — to come down
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cell — in biology
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — moving air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bore — to tire
  21. perch — the fish
  22. lean — thin
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. lean — to rest against

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