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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. clip — to cut
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. clip — a video
  9. scale — in music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. scale — size or range
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. shower — rain
  22. staff — employees
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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