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: wind · bat · object · cell · pitcher · root · prune · wound

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. root — of a plant
  10. object — a thing
  11. cell — a phone
  12. root — of a word
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. root — the cause
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — to trim
  18. object — an aim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — for baseball

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