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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cue — for pool
  4. hand — help
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cue — a hint
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — final
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wound — an injury
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. last — to go on

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