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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bore — to drill
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. press — newspapers
  9. game — a match
  10. cap — a lid
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cap — of ice
  19. press — a publisher
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bore — to tire
  22. drill — a practice
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. hand — help

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