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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. ground — a position
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. track — to keep track
  9. ground — the earth
  10. track — a path
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bark — to shout
  13. face — to confront
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wax — to grow
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. track — a song
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fork — a garden tool

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