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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — final
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. last — finally
  10. bore — to drill
  11. scale — size or range
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. branch — a division
  14. season — in sport
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. season — of the year
  18. plane — a tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bore — to tire
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. straw — dry grass

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