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 116 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — a series
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cue — a hint
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rash — hasty
  11. swing — to play on
  12. row — a line
  13. cue — for pool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. object — an aim
  16. swing — music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. object — to protest
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. object — a thing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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