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: wake · game · root · leaves · firm · pop · cold · prune

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wake — a trail
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. game — a match
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. firm — a company
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. firm — decided
  17. cold — an illness
  18. firm — steady
  19. pop — music
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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