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 · band · lean · craft · land · prune · cap · wound

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — a country
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — ground
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. band — a music group
  17. cap — a lid
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cap — a hat
  20. band — a ring
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — of ice
  23. craft — boats
  24. prune — to trim

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