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: trunk · bay · prune · spell · capital · ball · clip · patient

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. spell — letters
  8. prune — to trim
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. clip — a video
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. capital — a city
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a great time
  19. capital — money
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. patient — a sick person

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