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 · date · sharp · pitcher · cold · pop · field · prune

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. press — to push
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — a subject
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pop — soda
  12. date — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. press — a publisher
  15. field — for sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. sharp — clever
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pop — music
  24. field — farmland

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