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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pass — a permit
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. content — the amount
  11. tear — from crying
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cold — an illness
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. content — happy
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bass — low music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. tear — to rip

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