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: cold · trunk · deal · wax · mark · rule · ball · clip

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rule — government
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wax — to grow
  13. ball — a great time
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rule — a law
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. clip — a video
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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