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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cue — a signal
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. court — of a king
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cue — a hint
  9. chip — for betting
  10. snap — to click
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cue — for pool
  14. wax — to grow
  15. court — for sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. court — of law
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chip — to eat

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