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: present · hand · kick · cold · cell · press · game · shower

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — not warm
  8. press — a publisher
  9. present — there
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a match
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kick — in football
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. game — wild animals
  19. present — a gift
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. present — the time now
  24. kick — a thrill

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