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: date · cold · tear · spring · snap · wax · pound · pit

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pit — a hole
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. spring — the season
  14. cold — not warm
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spring — of water
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. snap — to click
  24. pound — to hit hard

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