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

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fall — to drop
  4. track — to keep track
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cue — for pool
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — a path
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. game — a match
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. tube — a container
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tube — the underground
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — wild animals
  22. track — a song
  23. bound — tied together
  24. kid — child

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