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 120 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: clip · cold · perch · rock · prune · chair · racket · track

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cold — an illness
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — a video
  6. track — a song
  7. cold — not warm
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. clip — for paper
  21. perch — the fish
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. track — a path

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