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: bark · swing · rule · spring · charge · prune · clip · object

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spring — of water
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rule — government
  5. charge — electricity
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. object — to protest
  9. bark — to shout
  10. prune — to trim
  11. object — an aim
  12. charge — in control
  13. charge — a price
  14. spring — the season
  15. rule — a law
  16. spring — a coil
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. clip — for paper
  21. object — a thing
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. swing — to play on
  24. clip — a video

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