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: bass · cue · court · plane · fall · swing · wind · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bass — low music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. court — of law
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. swing — music
  11. court — of a king
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — for sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — the season
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cue — for pool
  21. plane — a tool
  22. swing — in golf
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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