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: patient · staff · foot · bark · wax · shower · lie · cell

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. lie — to recline
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cell — a phone
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bark — to shout
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. shower — rain
  24. patient — a sick person

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