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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. prune — to trim
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. file — a document
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. file — a tool
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bass — the fish
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. file — a line of people
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bass — low music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. leaves — of a tree

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