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 · mark · wave · net · cold · pitcher · kid · snap

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. snap — to click
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. net — for catching
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — a trace
  17. kid — child
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. net — after costs
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. net — in sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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