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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. rest — a break
  4. press — to push
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. field — farmland
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cold — an illness
  12. file — a document
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lie — to recline
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rest — what's left
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. net — after costs

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