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 116 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: bass · hand · vault · hide · press · pitch · kid · pound

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. hand — help
  3. bass — the fish
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — low music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. kid — to tease
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. kid — child
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. pound — a weight
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. press — newspapers

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