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 116 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. chip — for betting
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. row — a line
  12. wax — to grow
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — not warm
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cold — an illness
  18. shower — rain
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wax — in the ear

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