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: wound · file · prune · cold · spring · cabinet · race · saw

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. race — a contest
  14. file — a tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spring — of water

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