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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. can — a tin
  4. wind — moving air
  5. craft — boats
  6. last — finally
  7. wind — moving air
  8. craft — a skill
  9. last — to go on
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wax — to grow
  16. snap — to click
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. row — a line
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cold — an illness

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