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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. root — of a plant
  3. spell — letters
  4. tear — to rip
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. root — the cause
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bulb — for light
  16. root — of a word
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. club — for golf
  20. spell — a short time
  21. club — a group
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spell — magic

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