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: wax · bark · straw · cold · snap · shower · pass · pound

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. snap — to click
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wax — to grow

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