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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. mate — a partner
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bulb — for light
  11. scale — in music
  12. kick — in football
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spring — of water
  15. kid — child
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mine — for digging
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. spring — the season
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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