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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wax — to grow
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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