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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bat — the animal
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pop — to visit
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pop — soda
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wax — to grow
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pop — music
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ball — a dance
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. ball — a round shape

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