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 120 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: land · mark · squash · prune · sharp · staff · shower · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. land — a country
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. clip — for paper
  6. land — ground
  7. sharp — clever
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — rain
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — to wash
  18. prune — to trim
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. staff — a stick
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. staff — employees
  24. land — to come down

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