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: wind · press · prune · pound · land · snap · capital · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. prune — to trim
  3. land — ground
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to click
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. press — newspapers
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bear — the animal
  16. land — a country
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — money
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. press — to push
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — a city
  24. land — to come down

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