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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. hand — help
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. game — wild animals
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rule — government
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rule — a law
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spring — of water
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — a match
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bowl — to roll

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