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: stem · spring · prune · fan · fall · pit · pitch · cold

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. spring — the season
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spring — of water
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pit — a hole
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spring — a coil

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