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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. squash — to crush
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. game — wild animals
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — a match
  20. hand — help
  21. spell — letters
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spell — magic
  24. bear — the animal

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