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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fall — the season
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. object — to protest
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. content — the amount
  11. object — an aim
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. dip — to sink
  18. rash — a series
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fall — to drop
  22. object — a thing
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. content — happy

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