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: bat · mug · bulb · capital · spring · staff · hand · wax

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. mug — a face
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — a city
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bulb — for light
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spring — a coil
  16. capital — money
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wax — for sculpting

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