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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. march — music
  7. face — to confront
  8. content — the amount
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. march — the month
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. march — the month
  17. key — in music
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wax — to grow
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. toast — bread

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