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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. toast — bread
  3. tear — to rip
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. date — the fruit
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. lean — thin
  14. ball — a great time
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. lean — to bend
  18. shower — rain
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — to wash
  21. degree — an amount
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ball — a dance
  24. prune — to trim

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