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: bowl · tear · wax · spell · calf · bat · cold · coach

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tear — from crying
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. tear — to rip
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bowl — to roll

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