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 I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. press — to push
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chair — a leader
  5. press — a publisher
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. content — happy
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. craft — a skill
  13. press — newspapers
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. craft — boats
  20. row — a line
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. content — the amount
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. craft — a handicraft

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