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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stem — to come from
  3. tube — the underground
  4. last — finally
  5. tube — a container
  6. cap — a lid
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. file — a document
  9. last — to go on
  10. file — a tool
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. spell — letters
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mate — a friend
  21. last — final
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spell — magic
  24. cap — of ice

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