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: prune · chip · season · cold · mate · game · mine · cap

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mate — a partner
  4. game — a match
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cap — a lid
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. season — of the year
  14. chip — to eat
  15. season — in sport
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. game — wild animals
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cap — of ice

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