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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chip — to eat
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. scale — in music
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. root — the cause
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. root — of a word
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. band — a ring
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. band — a music group
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. scale — size or range
  24. press — newspapers

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