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: prune · march · tear · clip · fork · mine · firm · ruler

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — to cut
  10. prune — to trim
  11. firm — a company
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. firm — steady
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. clip — a video
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. firm — decided
  21. march — music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. tear — to rip

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