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: straw · racket · bank · bat · cold · wax · tear · craft

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wax — to grow
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bank — for money
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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