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: last · mine · charge · prune · bark · tear · bat · pitcher

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — to go on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. last — finally
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — final
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. charge — in control
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. charge — a price

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