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: file · land · tear · prune · fork · stem · stock · current

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. current — electric
  6. file — a line of people
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stock — shares
  12. fork — in a road
  13. current — happening now
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. file — a document
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. land — ground
  20. current — of water
  21. land — to come down
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a tool

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