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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — a phone
  5. field — for sport
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. band — a ring
  8. present — there
  9. field — a subject
  10. present — the time now
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — farmland
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cell — in biology
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. shower — rain
  24. present — a gift

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