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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ground — crushed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. swing — in golf
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. ground — a position
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. swing — music
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. pass — a permit
  23. field — a subject
  24. ground — the earth

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