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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wax — to grow
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. clip — for paper
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. bank — of a river
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. field — farmland
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — a video
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — an illness
  19. field — a subject
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bank — for money
  24. game — a kind of play

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