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: cue · cell · wax · perch · scale · board · last · cold

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. scale — size or range
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cold — not warm
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. board — to get on
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — a phone
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cue — a signal
  20. scale — in music
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. wax — in the ear

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