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: wind · face · fall · press · kid · stem

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — to come from
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. press — newspapers
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. press — to push
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stem — a stem cell

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