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: chest · tube · prune · face · game · drill · sharp · wave

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chest — of your body
  4. drill — army training
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chest — a box
  10. face — part of the head
  11. drill — the tool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. tube — a container
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tube — the underground
  18. face — to confront
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. game — a match
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. game — a kind of play

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