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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: nail · wax · degree · last · vault · capital

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. capital — money
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. degree — an amount
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — a city
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. degree — temperature
  15. last — to go on
  16. wax — to grow
  17. degree — from a university
  18. nail — for a hammer

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