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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pound — a weight
  7. clip — to cut
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. scale — size or range
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. scale — in music
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. clip — a video
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. game — a match
  24. branch — a division

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