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: bark · pitcher · root · capital · prune · hand · bore · kid

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. capital — a city
  4. kid — child
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. capital — money
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kid — to tease
  14. root — of a plant
  15. prune — to trim
  16. root — of a word
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. root — the cause
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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