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 124 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a great time
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. key — in music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. root — of a word
  14. wax — to grow
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. key — for a lock
  17. cold — an illness
  18. key — the most important part
  19. root — the cause
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. root — of a plant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cold — not warm

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