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: swing · craft · press · chest · patient · degree · clip · vault

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. degree — an amount
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. swing — music
  8. craft — boats
  9. degree — from a university
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. press — a publisher
  12. clip — for paper
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. press — newspapers
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. swing — to play on
  18. chest — of your body
  19. degree — temperature
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. craft — a skill
  23. vault — a safe
  24. swing — in 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