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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. kid — child
  4. swing — music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cap — of ice
  9. content — the amount
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cap — a lid
  16. press — to push
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. swing — to play on
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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