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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. snap — to click
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wax — to grow
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bass — low music
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bass — the fish
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. shower — to wash
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bulb — of a plant

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