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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — in biology
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — for paper
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. clip — a video
  22. cell — a phone
  23. shower — rain
  24. wax — to grow

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