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: tear · racket · wax · wave · cell · degree · can · sharp

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. can — a tin
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tear — from crying
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cell — in biology
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. degree — temperature
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. racket — a loud noise

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