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: season · bank · pound · wax · bat · degree · bear · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. season — in sport
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. season — of the year
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tube — a container
  16. degree — temperature
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bank — for money
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pound — a weight
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bank — for money
  24. bat — for baseball

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