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: pitcher · firm · cold · leaves · kid · press · band · fall

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. firm — decided
  4. firm — steady
  5. fall — the season
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. firm — a company
  13. band — a music group
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kid — child
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fall — to drop
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a ring

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