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: press · content · chest · branch · lie · net · rule · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. branch — a division
  6. net — in sport
  7. press — to push
  8. chest — a box
  9. rule — government
  10. press — a publisher
  11. fall — the season
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — happy
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fall — to drop
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. net — for catching
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. content — the amount
  23. rule — a law
  24. branch — of a tree

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