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: wound · straw · row · kid · content · firm · pitch · press

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. row — a line
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. press — to push
  5. content — happy
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. firm — steady
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pitch — completely
  10. firm — a company
  11. row — to paddle
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wound — an injury
  14. press — a publisher
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. firm — decided
  18. wound — an injury
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. press — newspapers
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. kid — child
  24. pitch — a sports field

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