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: season · perch · cap · clip · rest · mine · can · prune

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cap — a hat
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. can — a tin
  7. cap — a lid
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. season — in sport
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. season — of the year
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — a video
  24. perch — the fish

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