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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. press — newspapers
  7. clip — a video
  8. court — of a king
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. press — to push
  12. cold — not warm
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. court — of law
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. branch — a division
  19. stem — to come from
  20. court — for sport
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. clip — to cut
  23. dip — to sink
  24. stem — a stem cell

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