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: cold · safe · wax · stem · ball · last · hand · kid

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — finally
  5. hand — in cards
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. kid — to tease
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a dance
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. hand — help
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. stem — to come from

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