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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. rule — a law
  4. track — a path
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pop — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pop — soda
  15. track — a song
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pop — to visit
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. march — the month
  20. rule — government
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. march — music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. march — the month

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