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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pitch — completely
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bark — to shout
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. capital — money
  13. face — to confront
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. chair — a leader
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — the season
  19. game — a match
  20. press — a publisher
  21. capital — a city
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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