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

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. charge — electricity
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mug — a face
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mug — a cup
  8. court — of law
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. charge — in control
  12. clip — a video
  13. charge — a price
  14. mug — to rob
  15. court — for sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mine — for digging
  19. clip — to cut
  20. court — of a king
  21. perch — the fish
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. clip — for paper

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