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: game · mine · wound · wax · season · wake · chest · arm

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. game — a match
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chest — of your body
  10. game — wild animals
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — in sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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