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: staff · straw · net · ground · drill · prune · spell · pitcher

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. staff — a stick
  4. ground — crushed
  5. drill — army training
  6. spell — magic
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. staff — employees
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ground — a position
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. net — after costs
  14. drill — the tool
  15. net — in sport
  16. spell — letters
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. spell — a short time
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. staff — employees
  22. drill — a practice
  23. ground — the earth
  24. net — for catching

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