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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — to rip
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. drill — the tool
  12. scale — size or range
  13. snap — to click
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cell — a phone
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — army training
  21. swing — music
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pit — in a race
  24. cell — in a prison

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