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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. spell — letters
  5. clip — a video
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — a short time
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. clip — to cut
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. fine — all right
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spell — magic
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stem — to come from
  24. prune — to trim

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