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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. file — a tool
  7. season — in sport
  8. branch — a division
  9. wax — to grow
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. file — a line of people
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. shower — rain
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — high quality
  19. season — of the year
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fine — all right
  22. file — a document
  23. sharp — clever
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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