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 · wax · game · row · mug · scale · board · chip

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. board — to get on
  6. game — wild animals
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mug — a face
  11. scale — in music
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — size or range
  16. game — a match
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mug — to rob
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. board — a committee
  24. row — to paddle

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