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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. field — farmland
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. march — music
  7. field — for sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mate — to breed
  13. spring — of water
  14. prune — to trim
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — to sink
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — a partner

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