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 116 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 · rock · field · ground · prune · capital · clip · land

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — farmland
  5. land — ground
  6. ground — a position
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — a stone
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rock — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. land — a country
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — to come down
  20. field — a subject
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. capital — money
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. clip — for paper

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