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: cold · bat · vault · pit · pitcher · press · season · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. press — newspapers
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. vault — a safe
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. bat — the animal
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. pitcher — a jug

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