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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — not warm
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. season — of the year
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. band — a music group
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — a list
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wax — to grow
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. staff — employees
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. season — in sport
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. tube — in a tire

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