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: trunk · date · wax · rest · scale · content · capital · wind

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rest — what's left
  5. capital — a city
  6. date — the fruit
  7. content — happy
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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