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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. kid — child
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. press — to push
  8. net — after costs
  9. present — the time now
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. content — the amount
  13. net — in sport
  14. kid — to tease
  15. net — for catching
  16. press — newspapers
  17. present — a gift
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. present — there
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — the animal
  24. press — a publisher

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