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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. row — a line
  7. rash — a series
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. deal — to handle
  13. row — to paddle
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spring — the season
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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