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: cell · mug · cold · sharp · firm · bark · wind · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. firm — steady
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wax — to grow
  16. sharp — clever
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. firm — decided
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wind — moving air

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