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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — a trail
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. spring — of water
  6. club — for golf
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. club — a group
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. saw — the tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. club — for dancing
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spring — a coil
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bore — to drill
  20. spring — the season
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — an amount

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