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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — in biology
  5. land — a country
  6. tube — a container
  7. fall — the season
  8. mate — a friend
  9. row — a line
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rush — hurry
  16. tube — the underground
  17. land — ground
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. land — to come down
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mate — to breed

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