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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pound — a weight
  3. press — a publisher
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cue — for pool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. snap — to click
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — a hint
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. press — to push
  21. game — a match
  22. cold — an illness
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cold — not warm

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