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: lash · prune · ball · field · drill · mate · shower · root

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. field — farmland
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. root — of a plant
  17. drill — a practice
  18. root — of a word
  19. mate — a friend
  20. field — a subject
  21. root — the cause
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mate — a partner

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