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: press · mine · season · bat · ruler · pitch · rest · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. season — of the year
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. press — a publisher
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rest — what's left
  18. season — in sport
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. press — to push
  24. ruler — for measuring

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