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: bowl · march · pit · prune · mate · press · root · bat

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. root — the cause
  5. march — music
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. root — of a plant
  15. pit — in a race
  16. press — to push
  17. press — a publisher
  18. mate — to breed
  19. root — of a word
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mate — a partner
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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