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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. capital — a city
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pop — music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pop — soda
  19. cold — an illness
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. capital — money
  24. mate — a partner

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