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: file · press · mine · bark · mouse · squash · game · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — to push
  3. press — newspapers
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. file — a document
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cold — an illness
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bark — to shout
  19. squash — to crush
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mouse — for a computer

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