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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. key — in music
  4. press — to push
  5. field — farmland
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. key — the most important part
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — a publisher
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chest — a box
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. cell — in biology
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. key — for a lock
  24. press — newspapers

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