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: wax · clip · content · rush · last · kid · race · fan

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. content — happy
  3. last — finally
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. race — the arms race
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. kid — child
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. clip — a video
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wax — to grow
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — to go on
  15. race — a contest
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. race — humankind
  18. rush — hurry
  19. last — final
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. clip — to cut

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