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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kick — in football
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rash — hasty
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. band — a music group
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rash — a series
  22. band — a ring
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. bat — the animal

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