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 116 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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. field — a subject
  3. spell — magic
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — a weight
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spell — letters
  8. rash — hasty
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. charge — in control
  12. drill — army training
  13. wax — to grow
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. field — farmland
  18. charge — electricity
  19. charge — a price
  20. field — for sport
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rash — a series
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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