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: hand · charge · drill · wax · squash · court · object · net

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. hand — help
  3. object — a thing
  4. charge — electricity
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wax — to grow
  7. net — for catching
  8. drill — a practice
  9. squash — the sport
  10. object — an aim
  11. court — for sport
  12. net — in sport
  13. charge — a price
  14. court — of a king
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. net — after costs
  17. court — of law
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. squash — to crush
  20. drill — army training
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. charge — in control
  24. drill — the tool

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