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: kid · object · mate · prune · stock · wind · pitcher · saw

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. object — an aim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mate — a partner
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — to tease
  8. object — a thing
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — to trim
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stock — goods
  15. mate — a friend
  16. kid — child
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. object — to protest
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mate — to breed
  24. saw — the tool

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