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: trunk · bark · wax · coach · degree · hide · arm · kick

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kick — in football
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bark — to shout
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. degree — an amount
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hide — animal skin

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