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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. last — final
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — help
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — to go on
  11. prune — to trim
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. last — finally
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. clip — a video
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mark — a trace
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. fan — to cool the air

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