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 120 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. wax — to grow
  10. shower — rain
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. ground — a position
  19. mark — a grade
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. shower — to wash

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