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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pound — a weight
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. file — a document
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — goods
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. file — a tool
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. file — a line of people

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