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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bore — to tire
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — an illness
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — in music
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bore — to drill

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