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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. capital — a city
  4. press — to push
  5. capital — money
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. scale — size or range
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — in music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bore — to drill
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bore — to tire
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. prune — to trim
  17. net — in sport
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. press — newspapers
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. press — a publisher

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