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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. scale — in music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — to crush
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. march — the month
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. press — to push
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. scale — size or range
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cold — the Cold War

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