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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. snap — to click
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. club — a group
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wax — to grow
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fine — high quality
  14. swing — music
  15. club — for golf
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. swing — to play on
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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