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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. prune — to trim
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a ring
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. march — music
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. march — the month
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. band — a music group
  23. wax — to grow
  24. perch — for a bird

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