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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. row — a line
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. band — a music group
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. land — a country
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. land — to come down
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wax — to grow
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. saw — the tool
  21. row — to paddle
  22. band — a ring
  23. wax — in the ear
  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