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 · wax · squash · bass · content · field · clip · pound

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. content — happy
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. bass — the fish
  8. date — the fruit
  9. field — farmland
  10. bass — low music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wax — to grow
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. squash — to crush
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. squash — the sport
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. content — the amount
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. date — on the calendar

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