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 124 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — to cut
  4. row — a line
  5. bore — to tire
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bore — to drill
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. branch — a division
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wind — moving air
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — a video
  24. row — to paddle

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