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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. last — finally
  4. perch — the fish
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. root — the cause
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. root — of a plant
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. root — of a word
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — money
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a city
  19. last — to go on
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. last — final
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wind — moving air

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