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: row · swing · season · land · wax · nail · band · scale

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. row — a line
  5. scale — in music
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. season — in sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. season — of the year
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. swing — in golf
  13. land — to come down
  14. wax — to grow
  15. row — to paddle
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. land — a country
  18. band — a ring
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. land — ground
  24. 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