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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. tube — a container
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. rule — government
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. band — a ring
  17. plane — a tool
  18. band — a music group
  19. rule — a law
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — thin
  24. plane — in geometry

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