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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tube — the underground
  4. court — of a king
  5. field — a subject
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. court — of law
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — farmland
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. row — to paddle
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. tube — a container
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wake — a trail
  22. court — for sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. row — a line

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