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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cell — in biology
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — rain
  8. wax — to grow
  9. root — of a plant
  10. field — for sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — farmland
  15. shower — to wash
  16. sharp — clever
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. root — of a word
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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