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: prune · pitch · cold · rest · deal · wound

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rest — what's left
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — an injury
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitch — completely
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cold — the Cold War

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