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

Word bank: hide · saw · spring · wind · snap · wax · face · pound

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spring — a coil
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to click
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. face — to confront
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. face — to point toward
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. pound — a weight

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