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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. swing — to play on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. file — a line of people
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wake — a trail
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. swing — music
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. file — a document
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bulb — for light
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — help
  24. date — the fruit

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