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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — happy
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — to visit
  5. content — the amount
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. file — a line of people
  9. lie — to recline
  10. ground — the earth
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — soda
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pop — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a tool
  24. wind — moving air

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