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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. file — a document
  4. spring — a coil
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. fall — the season
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — the season
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. spring — of water
  15. file — a tool
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. fall — to drop
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. prune — to trim
  24. jam — in traffic

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