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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — help
  6. charge — in control
  7. wax — to grow
  8. tear — from crying
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. race — humankind
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — electricity
  15. hand — in cards
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tear — to rip
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. race — a contest
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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