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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — to come down
  6. shower — rain
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. press — to push
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — ground
  16. cell — in biology
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cell — a phone
  20. squash — the sport
  21. land — a country
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cell — in a prison

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