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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pop — to visit
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. ground — a position
  6. rash — a series
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chest — a box
  10. mug — to rob
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mug — a face
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mug — a cup
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. pop — music
  24. prune — to trim

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