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: bore · arm · cold · leaves · prune · wind · bear · degree

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cold — not warm
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. degree — temperature
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bear — the animal
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — an illness
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. leaves — to go away

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