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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. saw — the tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. file — a document
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — a video
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — the season
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bank — of a river
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bank — for money
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wake — a trail

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