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 · present · kid · staff · race · prune · mate · shower

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mate — a partner
  5. season — of the year
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. race — humankind
  8. mate — to breed
  9. prune — to trim
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. race — a contest
  13. staff — employees
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kid — to tease
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — the time now
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — to wash
  20. season — in sport
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. race — the arms race
  23. shower — rain
  24. staff — a stick

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