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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. scale — in music
  3. march — music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. present — a gift
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. game — a match
  10. march — the month
  11. present — there
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — to tease
  17. game — wild animals
  18. present — the time now
  19. chair — a leader
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. scale — for weighing

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