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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. cap — a hat
  3. clip — for paper
  4. scale — size or range
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — a break
  7. scale — in music
  8. rest — what's left
  9. race — humankind
  10. rule — government
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cap — of ice
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rule — a law
  16. cap — a lid
  17. race — a contest
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. band — a ring
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — what's left

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