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 · spring · pitch · bass · sharp · rule · stem · land

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rule — government
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bass — low music
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spring — of water
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — the season
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. land — to come down
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rule — a law

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