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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — to come down
  3. spell — a short time
  4. snap — to click
  5. land — a country
  6. season — in sport
  7. land — ground
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. shower — to wash
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. last — final
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. last — to go on
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. last — finally
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. prune — to trim
  24. trunk — of a tree

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