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: pop · mouse · cold · content · clip · patient · fall · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pop — to visit
  3. content — happy
  4. pop — music
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. content — the amount
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. clip — a video
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fall — the season
  23. pop — soda
  24. patient — a sick person

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