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 · swing · pit · tear · straw · rest · last · stock

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wax — to grow
  4. stock — shares
  5. swing — in golf
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. last — to go on
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. last — finally
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. swing — music
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pit — in a race
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stock — goods
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — a break
  22. pit — a hole
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — dry grass

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