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: press · staff · kid · shower · scale · field · fork · race

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. staff — employees
  3. field — for sport
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. scale — size or range
  6. press — a publisher
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — newspapers
  11. field — a subject
  12. race — a contest
  13. field — farmland
  14. staff — a stick
  15. scale — in music
  16. staff — employees
  17. fork — in a road
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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