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: wake · degree · wind · prune · kid · rule

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — child
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. kid — to tease
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit

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