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 120 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: court · present · press · race · band · spring

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spring — a coil
  3. race — a contest
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — the arms race
  6. court — for sport
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. present — the time now
  11. band — a music group
  12. race — humankind
  13. court — of law
  14. present — a gift
  15. press — newspapers
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. present — there

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