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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hand — help
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — farmland
  6. ball — a dance
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. field — a subject
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bass — the fish
  20. court — for sport
  21. tube — a container
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. field — for sport

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