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: mug · wave · date · mate · press · chest · chair · cold

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mate — a friend
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cold — not warm
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mug — a cup
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mug — a face
  19. press — to push
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mug — to rob

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