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: mine · bark · cold · chip · wax · arm · foot · capital

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. capital — money
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wax — to grow
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bark — to shout
  17. capital — a city
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wax — for sculpting

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