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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. board — a committee
  3. saw — the tool
  4. land — a country
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. land — ground
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. land — to come down
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. cell — a phone
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. board — to get on
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cell — in biology
  23. prune — to trim
  24. saw — the tool

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