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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. game — a match
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — to drill
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wax — to grow
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bat — the animal

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