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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bass — the fish
  5. row — a line
  6. bass — low music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cue — a hint
  9. clip — a video
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. press — a publisher
  13. clip — for paper
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cue — a signal
  18. track — a song
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. clip — to cut
  21. press — to push
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cue — for pool

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