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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bound — certain
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lean — thin
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bound — tied together
  17. date — the fruit
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tube — a container
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bound — obliged

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