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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a document
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a line of people
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — for sport
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. last — finally
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spring — a coil
  17. content — happy
  18. field — a subject
  19. content — the amount
  20. file — a tool
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spring — the season
  23. press — a publisher
  24. field — farmland

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