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: hand · tube · wax · fan · fork · bass · last · present

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. present — a gift
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bass — the fish
  13. tube — a container
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. present — there
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. hand — help
  22. present — the time now
  23. last — to go on
  24. hand — part of the 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