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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. march — the month
  16. bulb — for light
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kick — in football
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ball — a great time
  24. march — music

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