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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. scale — size or range
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wax — to grow
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. craft — a skill
  18. scale — in music
  19. capital — a city
  20. foot — a measure
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — money
  24. craft — boats

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