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 120 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: cell · straw · press · nail · march · wax · wound · drill

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. march — music
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. drill — the tool
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. press — newspapers
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. drill — army training
  19. cell — in biology
  20. drill — a practice
  21. cell — a phone
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wound — an injury

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