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: degree · pop · prune · bulb · spring · clip · staff · hide

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. spring — of water
  3. staff — employees
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. clip — a video
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spring — the season
  8. degree — temperature
  9. staff — employees
  10. pop — soda
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pop — to visit
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pop — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bulb — for light
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — for light
  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