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 116 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wax — to grow
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pound — a weight
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. shower — rain
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spring — the season
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. spring — of water
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. calf — of the leg

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