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: prune · scale · last · chest · wound · leaves · race · clip

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. scale — size or range
  3. race — the arms race
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. race — a contest
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chest — a box
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. scale — in music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — for paper
  21. last — to go on
  22. race — humankind
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. clip — a video

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