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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lie — to recline
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chair — a leader
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a line of people
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. file — a document
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. hand — help
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. file — a tool

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