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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. press — newspapers
  5. rule — government
  6. net — after costs
  7. press — to push
  8. clip — a video
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rule — a law
  11. lean — to bend
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lean — thin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. file — a document
  19. net — for catching
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mark — a trace
  22. file — a tool
  23. lean — to rest against
  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