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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. club — a group
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ground — a position
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — child
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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