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: snap · press · pound · trunk · lean · kid · capital · club

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. club — a group
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. press — newspapers
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. kid — child
  10. capital — a city
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pound — a weight
  14. lean — thin
  15. snap — to click
  16. press — to push
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. club — for dancing
  19. capital — money
  20. press — a publisher
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. club — for golf

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