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: land · dip · court · spring · clip · cue · pound · prune

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. land — a country
  3. dip — to sink
  4. land — ground
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. court — of law
  7. prune — to trim
  8. court — of a king
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pound — a weight
  11. spring — of water
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. court — for sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cue — for pool
  16. spring — the season
  17. cue — a signal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — to cut
  23. land — to come down
  24. pound — to hit hard

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