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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. race — a contest
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rock — a stone
  7. branch — a division
  8. race — humankind
  9. press — a publisher
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mate — to breed
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. press — to push
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rock — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — in an idiom

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