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: cold · clip · cell · fork · saw · prune · tube · lie

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — a video
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. tube — the underground
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tube — a container
  19. clip — for paper
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — not warm

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