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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. bore — to tire
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rule — a law
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. march — the month
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — the month
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. shower — rain
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — music
  20. game — a match
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. bore — gave birth
  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