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: spell · land · last · ground · row · bat · prune · mate

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — a position
  3. land — ground
  4. last — to go on
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. land — to come down
  11. bat — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. mate — a friend
  14. spell — letters
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. last — final
  18. spell — magic
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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