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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — for sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spring — the season
  17. court — of law
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wind — moving air
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fan — a supporter

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