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

Word bank: season · degree · capital · racket · pop · prune

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — an amount
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. pop — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pop — to visit
  10. capital — money
  11. degree — from a university
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. season — of the year
  14. pop — soda
  15. season — in sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. degree — temperature

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