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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — a path
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — of the year
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. file — a tool
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. file — a document
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. track — a song
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spring — of water
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pit — a hole
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. prune — the fruit

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