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 120 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: patient · prune · march · plane · stem · season · net · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. net — after costs
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — hurry
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. net — for catching
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. season — of the year
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. season — in sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. march — music
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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