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: shower · cell · press · bark · ball · march

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bark — to shout
  12. shower — to wash
  13. press — newspapers
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — a phone
  16. shower — rain
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cell — in biology

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