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: wax · net · leaves · chest · rock · clip · bat · cell

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. clip — for paper
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. net — for catching
  6. cell — a phone
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. net — in sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. clip — a video
  17. wax — to grow
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — after costs
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rock — a stone

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