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: mine · face · root · wax · row · court · kid · scale

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. row — a line
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — for digging
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — for sport
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. kid — child
  17. wax — to grow
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. row — to paddle
  22. root — of a word
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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