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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. prune — to trim
  3. track — to keep track
  4. pit — in a race
  5. track — a song
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. land — to come down
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. hand — in cards
  20. track — a path
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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