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: fan · coach · prune · march · kick · pound · straw · bore

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bore — to tire
  7. march — music
  8. pound — a weight
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kick — in football
  22. bore — to drill
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — dry grass

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