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: straw · fan · cap · track · spell · swing · prune · mine

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. swing — music
  8. cap — a lid
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. swing — to play on
  13. spell — magic
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. track — to keep track
  16. spell — a short time
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mine — for digging
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. spell — letters
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cap — a hat

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