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 · clip · net · bore · staff · cold · prune · fall

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. fall — the season
  3. net — after costs
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. staff — employees
  6. press — newspapers
  7. staff — employees
  8. net — in sport
  9. fall — to drop
  10. press — a publisher
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. press — to push
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fall — to drop
  16. prune — to trim
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bore — to tire
  19. clip — a video
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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