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 120 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. press — to push
  4. tear — to rip
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tear — from crying
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. pop — to visit
  9. clip — to cut
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. clip — for paper
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. tear — from crying
  15. shower — to wash
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. track — a path
  19. clip — a video
  20. press — a publisher
  21. pop — soda
  22. plane — a tool
  23. press — newspapers
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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