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: rest · game · mine · club · press · bear · patient · clip

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. press — to push
  4. rest — what's left
  5. club — for dancing
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mine — for digging
  10. game — wild animals
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bear — the animal
  14. clip — a video
  15. club — for golf
  16. clip — to cut
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bear — the animal
  19. club — a group
  20. game — a match
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. press — a publisher
  24. patient — a sick person

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