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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pop — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. swing — music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mate — a partner
  8. clip — for paper
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. spring — the season
  14. press — to push
  15. spring — of water
  16. press — newspapers
  17. content — happy
  18. pop — soda
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spring — a coil
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — a division
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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