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 116 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: spring · degree · chip · cold · fall · object · club · wax

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spring — of water
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. object — an aim
  5. club — for dancing
  6. spring — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. spring — a coil
  10. club — for golf
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fall — the season
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wax — to grow
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — a thing
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cold — not warm

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