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: bay · pass · shower · hand · cold · wax · root · prune

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cold — not warm
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wax — to grow
  16. prune — to trim
  17. root — of a word
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — help

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