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: prune · tear · capital · kid · snap · branch · season · coach

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. capital — a city
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — from crying
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. branch — a division
  13. season — in sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. snap — to click
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. tear — to rip
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. season — of the year
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. capital — money
  24. prune — the fruit

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