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: land · squash · content · clip · deal · chest · press · wave

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — a box
  3. land — to come down
  4. deal — to handle
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. clip — for paper
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — a publisher
  14. content — the amount
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. land — a country
  20. content — happy
  21. land — ground
  22. press — newspapers
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wave — of the sea

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