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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ground — crushed
  4. scale — in music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. spring — the season
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ground — a position
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ground — the earth
  15. spring — of water
  16. lean — to bend
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wax — to grow
  21. saw — the tool
  22. branch — a division
  23. saw — the tool
  24. branch — of a tree

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