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: wax · patient · spell · cold · coach · pop · file · foot

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. file — a document
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cold — an illness
  10. file — a tool
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pop — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pop — soda
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. spell — letters
  18. pop — to visit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — magic
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spell — a short time
  24. wax — to grow

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