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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. root — the cause
  4. spell — letters
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spell — magic
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. swing — music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. root — of a plant
  13. row — a line
  14. swing — to play on
  15. root — of a word
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wind — moving air
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. spell — a short time

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