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: mark · fall · race · shower · hand · land · wax · chip

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chip — to eat
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. hand — help
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. land — ground
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mark — a trace
  13. land — to come down
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fall — the season
  16. shower — rain
  17. race — humankind
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. race — the arms race
  21. land — a country
  22. hand — in cards
  23. race — a contest
  24. hand — 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