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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. spring — of water
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rush — hurry
  5. land — a country
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spring — the season
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kick — in football
  19. rash — a series
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rash — hasty
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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