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 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — soda
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. last — finally
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pop — to visit
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. last — final
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pop — music
  15. last — to go on
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. shower — to wash
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. shower — rain
  22. hand — help
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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