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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a lid
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fine — all right
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. game — a match
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. chest — a box
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. fine — high quality
  24. cap — of ice

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