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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. prune — to trim
  3. shower — to wash
  4. present — the time now
  5. kid — child
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. net — for catching
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. kid — to tease
  11. snap — to click
  12. present — there
  13. last — final
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — rain
  16. present — a gift
  17. last — finally
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. net — in sport
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. patient — a sick person

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