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: capital · tear · plane · hand · prune · snap · court · wave

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — of a king
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. court — for sport
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. capital — money
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. court — of law
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — in cards
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. prune — to trim
  19. snap — to click
  20. plane — a tool
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. plane — in geometry

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