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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. content — happy
  4. bank — for money
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spell — letters
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bank — of a river
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spell — magic
  16. bank — for money
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wound — an injury
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stock — shares
  21. content — the amount
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. sharp — clever
  24. stock — goods

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