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: cold · tube · wax · swing · band · cell · prune · pitch

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. swing — in golf
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. swing — music
  11. wax — to grow
  12. tube — the underground
  13. band — a music group
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. band — a ring
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cold — an illness
  22. swing — to play on
  23. band — a rubber band
  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