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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — to rip
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pop — soda
  6. face — to confront
  7. press — to push
  8. mark — a trace
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rash — a series
  11. pop — to visit
  12. mark — a grade
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chest — a box
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rash — hasty
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chest — of your body
  23. press — newspapers
  24. chest — of your body

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