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: clip · fan · wake · saw · bat · spell · dip · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — a video
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. spell — letters
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spell — a short time
  19. dip — to sink
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. dip — to dunk

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