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: court · row · spring · fan · staff · kid · press · ground

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spring — the season
  8. row — to paddle
  9. press — newspapers
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. row — a line
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. spring — of water
  19. court — for sport
  20. ground — crushed
  21. staff — employees
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. ground — a position

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