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: bat · board · race · wax · lie · clip · foot · season

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. race — humankind
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — a video
  5. foot — a measure
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. board — to get on
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. lie — to recline
  14. season — in sport
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. season — of the year
  20. board — a committee
  21. race — a contest
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. race — the arms race
  24. foot — part of the body

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