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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pound — a weight
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. game — a match
  12. land — to come down
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. prune — the fruit

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