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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. press — to push
  3. land — ground
  4. band — a music group
  5. last — final
  6. band — a ring
  7. last — to go on
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. last — finally
  11. field — for sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. scale — in music
  14. field — farmland
  15. content — the amount
  16. field — a subject
  17. press — newspapers
  18. scale — size or range
  19. land — a country
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. content — happy
  24. rush — a thrill

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