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: shower · bear · patient · trunk · chest · lean · wax · scale

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. scale — size or range
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. shower — rain
  10. chest — a box
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bear — the animal
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. lean — thin
  24. trunk — of a tree

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