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: leaves · squash · prune · cold · charge · capital · wave · lie

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lie — to recline
  4. charge — electricity
  5. capital — money
  6. charge — in control
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. charge — a price
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. capital — a city
  24. cold — not warm

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