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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kid — child
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — to come from
  7. plane — a tool
  8. track — a path
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. saw — the tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. track — a song
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. wind — moving air
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wind — moving air

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