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 · present · file · saw · cabinet · tube · clip · court

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. press — to push
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. present — there
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. tube — the underground
  10. file — a line of people
  11. court — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. clip — to cut
  15. press — newspapers
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. present — the time now
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. present — a gift
  23. clip — a video
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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