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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. last — to go on
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rash — hasty
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. squash — to crush
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rash — a series
  19. scale — in music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. scale — size or range
  22. chair — a leader
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — with an edge

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