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 · straw · swing · ground · coach · hand · scale · last

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — final
  4. prune — to trim
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. swing — in golf
  8. last — finally
  9. ground — a position
  10. scale — in music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ground — the earth
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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