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: track · hand · wake · kid · sharp · field · wax · tear

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hand — help
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — to rip
  11. field — farmland
  12. track — a path
  13. sharp — clever
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wax — to grow
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. hand — part of the body

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