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 · file · pitcher · row · hand · bulb · clip · net

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. net — after costs
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hand — in cards
  6. file — a document
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. file — a tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. net — for catching
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. row — a line
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bulb — for light
  20. row — to paddle
  21. net — in sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — help
  24. clip — to cut

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