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: chest · spring · hand · bass · game · prune · pit · wax

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — of water
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. spring — the season
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. hand — help
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. prune — to trim
  23. game — a match
  24. chest — of your body

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