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: chair · wax · land · bowl · club · bat · rash · mine

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. club — a group
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. club — for golf
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rash — a series
  24. land — to come down

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