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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — for light
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. clip — for paper
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tear — to rip
  20. perch — the fish
  21. prune — to trim
  22. row — a line
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. row — to paddle

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