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: ball · pitch · bat · bank · last · spring · net · press

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. net — for catching
  6. press — a publisher
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bank — of a river
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. last — finally
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bank — for money
  19. press — newspapers
  20. spring — the season
  21. ball — a dance
  22. press — to push
  23. bank — for money
  24. pitch — completely

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