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: cell · current · staff · scale · chair · prune · cold · wake

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. staff — employees
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. prune — to trim
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. scale — in music
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cold — not warm
  13. current — of water
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. staff — a stick
  17. cell — a phone
  18. staff — employees
  19. wake — a trail
  20. prune — to trim
  21. scale — size or range
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. current — happening now
  24. cold — an illness

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