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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fall — the season
  3. shower — rain
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. track — a path
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bark — to shout
  15. track — to keep track
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. chest — a box
  19. track — a song
  20. fall — to drop
  21. date — the fruit
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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