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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — final
  5. rash — a series
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. track — a song
  13. last — to go on
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rash — hasty
  18. date — the fruit
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. last — finally
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fan — a supporter

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