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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. spell — magic
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. deal — to handle
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spell — letters
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. spell — a short time
  24. trunk — of a car

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