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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. club — a group
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. row — to paddle
  5. current — of water
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — not warm
  11. current — happening now
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — to grow
  15. club — for dancing
  16. degree — from a university
  17. row — a line
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cold — an illness
  20. club — for golf
  21. degree — an amount
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. current — electric
  24. degree — temperature

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