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 120 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: firm · degree · wax · tube · game · pop · tear · net

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — for catching
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. net — after costs
  7. firm — a company
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pop — soda
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tube — the underground
  12. firm — steady
  13. tear — from crying
  14. firm — decided
  15. net — in sport
  16. game — a match
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pop — music
  19. degree — from a university
  20. game — wild animals
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wax — to grow
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tube — a container

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