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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. club — for dancing
  3. present — the time now
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. club — for golf
  6. tear — to rip
  7. club — a group
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. dip — to sink
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. capital — money
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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