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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hand — help
  3. season — in sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. suit — clothes
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. shower — rain
  9. suit — to fit
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. band — a music group
  15. suit — in cards
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. season — of the year
  21. spell — magic
  22. hand — in cards
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. racket — a loud noise

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