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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. court — of law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. can — a tin
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. can — to be able to
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cold — an illness
  10. can — a tin
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bass — the fish
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. court — of a king
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — a container
  24. court — for sport

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