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: rock · plane · mine · nail · cold · jam · wound · press

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rock — music
  3. press — to push
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. rock — a stone
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. press — a publisher
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rock — to move gently

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