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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. press — to push
  3. stock — shares
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — a list
  7. field — for sport
  8. swing — music
  9. press — a publisher
  10. saw — the tool
  11. staff — employees
  12. press — newspapers
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. staff — a stick
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. field — farmland
  18. swing — in golf
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — a subject
  21. stock — goods
  22. game — wild animals
  23. swing — to play on
  24. staff — employees

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