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: court · field · lie · chair · mark · ground · wax · roll

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. court — for sport
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. roll — a cake
  9. field — for sport
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. field — a subject
  14. roll — a list
  15. mark — a grade
  16. ground — a position
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. ground — the earth
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — farmland
  23. lie — to recline
  24. mark — a trace

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