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: straw · prune · hide · game · track · wound · fall · rash

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rash — a series
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. track — a song
  7. game — wild animals
  8. track — a path
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. fall — the season
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. prune — to trim
  13. game — a match
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. track — to keep track

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