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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bank — for money
  5. press — to push
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — a phone
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rule — government
  12. lean — thin
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bank — of a river
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bank — for money
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. clip — a video
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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