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: spring · stock · field · land · ball · rush · rash · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stock — goods
  3. land — ground
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. field — farmland
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. land — a country
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ball — a great time
  14. spring — of water
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wax — to grow
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. land — to come down

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