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: chest · clip · wax · bowl · fork · scale · face · bass

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bass — low music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. fork — in a road
  8. scale — in music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. face — to point toward
  11. clip — a video
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wax — to grow
  22. clip — for paper
  23. scale — size or range
  24. face — part of the head

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