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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. snap — to click
  6. root — of a word
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a great time
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. rock — a stone
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. root — of a plant
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. prune — to trim
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rock — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. root — the cause
  24. cold — the Cold War

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