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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cap — a hat
  4. sharp — clever
  5. key — the most important part
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rock — music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. row — a line
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cap — of ice
  17. clip — for paper
  18. key — in music
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. key — for a lock
  21. clip — a video
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. row — to paddle
  24. degree — an amount

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