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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tear — to rip
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cold — an illness
  13. press — to push
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. press — a publisher
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. squash — the sport
  19. vault — a safe
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bowl — a football final

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