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: plane · pit · hand · chest · rash · tear · land · wax

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. land — a country
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wax — to grow
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pit — in a race
  15. rash — a series
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. plane — a tool
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. land — to come down
  22. pit — a hole
  23. land — ground
  24. plane — in geometry

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