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 120 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: spring · press · chip · bark · row · drill · cold · mate

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. drill — army training
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. press — to push
  5. spring — the season
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spring — a coil
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spring — of water
  13. row — a line
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chip — to eat
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chip — for betting
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mate — a partner
  24. chip — in a computer

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