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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. present — a gift
  3. net — after costs
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. present — there
  8. net — in sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bass — low music
  11. current — electric
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. current — happening now
  15. stock — goods
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. current — of water
  18. present — the time now
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bass — the fish
  21. swing — to play on
  22. capital — a city
  23. net — for catching
  24. capital — money

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