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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. lie — to recline
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chest — of your body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chest — a box
  23. degree — from a university
  24. lie — an untruth

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