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: wake · wax · pop · chest · march · wound · field · toast

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wound — an injury
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — bread
  5. pop — music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wake — a trail
  8. march — the month
  9. pop — to visit
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — farmland
  13. chest — of your body
  14. field — for sport
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. march — music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — a box
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — a subject
  24. wax — in the ear

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