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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — to trim
  3. land — to come down
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. fall — the season
  8. current — happening now
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — ground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — a country
  18. fall — to drop
  19. swing — to play on
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. swing — in golf
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. current — electric
  24. mouse — the animal

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