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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a great time
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spell — magic
  11. ball — a dance
  12. spell — letters
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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