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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bound — obliged
  13. degree — temperature
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. club — for golf
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. hand — help
  22. bound — certain
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wax — to grow

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