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 116 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: pop · tear · shower · prune · wax · cold · pass · lash

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. tear — from crying
  8. shower — rain
  9. pop — soda
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pop — music
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pass — a permit
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — to trim

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