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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — of law
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of a king
  12. pit — a hole
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. court — for sport
  16. scale — size or range
  17. capital — a city
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — money
  21. pit — in a race
  22. kid — child
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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