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: straw · tube · squash · march · bore · clip · prune · mate

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mate — a friend
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bore — to drill
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mate — to breed
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — a video
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — the sport
  15. march — music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — a container
  18. squash — to crush
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bore — to tire
  23. mate — a partner
  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