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 120 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: wax · tear · snap · plane · coach · cell · stem · stock

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. snap — to click
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cell — in biology
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. plane — a tool
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stock — goods
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — a phone
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. stock — shares
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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