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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — a country
  3. clip — for paper
  4. track — to keep track
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. clip — to cut
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. ground — the earth
  10. land — ground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. ground — crushed
  15. track — a path
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. track — a song
  20. ground — a position
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — for betting
  23. clip — a video
  24. chip — to eat

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