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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pit — in a race
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spring — of water
  6. mark — a grade
  7. spring — the season
  8. field — for sport
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — a hole
  18. field — a subject
  19. rash — a series
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — farmland
  22. snap — to click
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cold — the Cold War

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