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: wind · wax · pound · rush · arm · court · prune · race

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pound — a weight
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. race — a contest
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of law
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rush — hurry
  16. wax — to grow
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. court — of a king
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. race — humankind

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