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: tear · press · stock · cell · straw · bat · bulb · rock

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cell — a phone
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. press — a publisher
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. press — newspapers
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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