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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. game — a match
  3. can — to be able to
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spell — letters
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. field — a subject
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitch — completely
  14. field — for sport
  15. chest — a box
  16. spell — magic
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. press — to push
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. press — newspapers

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