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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cold — an illness
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. perch — the fish
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bulb — for light
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — a trainer

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