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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bear — the animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — child
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. press — to push
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. branch — a division
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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