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 116 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 · rule · cold · chip · ground · pit · snap · land

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ground — crushed
  4. land — to come down
  5. wax — to grow
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cold — an illness
  10. land — a country
  11. rule — government
  12. ground — a position
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. ground — the earth
  16. snap — to click
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. pit — in a race
  20. rule — a law
  21. land — ground
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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