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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. clip — to cut
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. court — for sport
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. press — newspapers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — music
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. row — a line
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — a box
  17. press — to push
  18. perch — the fish
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. pitch — completely

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