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: swing · land · band · sharp · wax · dip · bore · bat

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. land — ground
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. swing — music
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. band — a ring
  14. bat — the animal
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bore — to drill
  17. band — a music group
  18. dip — to sink
  19. land — to come down
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bore — to tire
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. swing — in golf
  24. land — a country

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