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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. drill — a practice
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ball — a great time
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pop — music
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pop — soda
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cold — an illness
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. prune — to trim
  24. arm — a part of something

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