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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lean — thin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. file — a tool
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chest — a box
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. file — a document
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — of your body
  17. press — a publisher
  18. land — to come down
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. lean — to bend
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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