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: board · rest · prune · land · cell · wake · coach · stem

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rest — a break
  4. land — to come down
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. land — a country
  8. wake — a trail
  9. board — to get on
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cell — in biology
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. land — ground
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rest — what's left
  22. board — a committee
  23. stem — to come from
  24. board — a flat piece

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