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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. press — to push
  4. wax — to grow
  5. clip — a video
  6. rash — a series
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. present — a gift
  9. press — a publisher
  10. present — there
  11. rash — hasty
  12. squash — the sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. present — the time now
  24. wax — for sculpting

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