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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · field · prune · content · tear · row

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — to rip
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — a subject
  8. lean — thin
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. field — farmland
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — happy
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — a line
  18. field — for sport

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