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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cap — a hat
  6. season — of the year
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. season — in sport
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. net — after costs
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — a lid
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. net — for catching
  21. bass — low music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. net — in sport

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