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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. track — a song
  6. court — of a king
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cell — in biology
  11. track — a path
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. shower — to wash
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cell — a phone
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — for digging

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