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: shower · field · cap · file · press · content · chip · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. content — happy
  3. press — to push
  4. file — a tool
  5. content — the amount
  6. cap — a lid
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. field — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. club — for golf
  12. press — a publisher
  13. field — farmland
  14. cap — a hat
  15. field — a subject
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cap — of ice
  18. club — for dancing
  19. chip — to eat
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. press — newspapers
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chip — for betting

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