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: march · tear · cue · race · chest · season · wax · cold

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. race — a contest
  3. chest — a box
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. season — of the year
  9. cue — a hint
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — from crying
  12. season — in sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — humankind
  19. tear — from crying
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chest — of your body
  23. march — music
  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