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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · squash · mine · stock · racket · pitch

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stock — goods
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stock — shares
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. squash — the sport
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. press — a publisher
  17. squash — to crush
  18. press — newspapers

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