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

Word bank: charge · scale · race · band · clip · press · fan · prune

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. press — a publisher
  6. charge — a price
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. race — humankind
  9. band — a music group
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. scale — in music
  13. charge — electricity
  14. race — the arms race
  15. press — to push
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. prune — to trim
  20. scale — size or range
  21. race — a contest
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. band — a ring
  24. scale — for weighing

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