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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. stem — to come from
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — letters
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. press — a publisher
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cold — not warm
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. roll — a cake
  21. press — newspapers
  22. tube — a container
  23. press — to push
  24. roll — a list

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