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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — for paper
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ball — a dance
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — temperature
  13. clip — a video
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rule — government
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rule — a law
  24. ball — a great time

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