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: season · shower · scale · kid · press · cell

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. press — to push
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. kid — child
  5. press — newspapers
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. scale — in music
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — in biology
  15. scale — size or range
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. season — in sport

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