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: kick · chest · stem · bore · game · pound · wax · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stem — to come from
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bore — to drill
  13. last — to go on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kick — in football
  18. game — a match
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. last — final
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chest — a box

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