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: dip · last · branch · bat · wound · wax · pitcher · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. last — final
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. row — a line
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. last — to go on
  20. branch — a division
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — finally
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wound — an injury

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