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: board · wind · pop · land · cold · band · kick · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. board — to get on
  3. land — to come down
  4. pop — music
  5. band — a ring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a music group
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — to push
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. land — ground
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cold — not warm
  18. land — a country
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kick — in football
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. board — a committee
  24. wind — to turn a key

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