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: shower · nail · prune · tear · mate · bark · wax · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spring — of water
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wax — to grow
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. spring — a coil
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — from crying

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