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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. spring — of water
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitch — completely
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. drill — a practice
  9. clip — for paper
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spring — the season
  12. drill — army training
  13. press — to push
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. track — a path
  17. press — newspapers
  18. track — a song
  19. fall — the season
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — the tool
  23. press — a publisher
  24. fall — to drop

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