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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wound — an injury
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pit — in a race
  7. staff — employees
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pit — a hole
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. perch — the fish
  19. staff — employees
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. press — a publisher
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cold — an illness

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