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: cold · last · wax · arm · can · march · prune · bound

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. march — the month
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cold — not warm
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. last — to go on
  15. bound — certain
  16. march — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bound — obliged
  19. prune — to trim
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — to grow

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