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: hide · calf · content · branch · spell · kid · press · race

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kid — child
  4. content — happy
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. press — a publisher
  8. race — a contest
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. spell — magic
  12. branch — a division
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. content — the amount
  17. spell — a short time
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. press — newspapers
  23. spell — letters
  24. content — videos and posts

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