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: tube · tear · fall · hand · race · wax · spring · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. tube — a container
  3. fall — the season
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — the season
  10. hand — help
  11. fall — to drop
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spring — of water
  15. fall — to drop
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wax — to grow
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — the underground
  24. fan — a supporter

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