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: cell · tear · stem · fine · prune · snap · trunk · row

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — to come from
  9. snap — to click
  10. row — a line
  11. cell — in biology
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. row — to paddle
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fine — high quality
  21. prune — to trim
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fine — all right

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