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: clip · pop · wax · arm · mine · rest · season · bark

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pop — music
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pop — to visit
  8. rest — what's left
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pop — soda
  13. rest — a break
  14. season — of the year
  15. clip — a video
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. season — in sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rest — what's left
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. arm — part of the body

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