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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. craft — a skill
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. saw — the tool
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rule — government
  10. chest — a box
  11. saw — the tool
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — a match
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — wild animals
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. craft — boats
  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