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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. last — to go on
  6. rash — hasty
  7. current — of water
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. march — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — finally
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rash — a series
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. last — final
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — the Cold War

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