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: chest · squash · cold · press · dip · mouse · race · spell

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — a short time
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. press — newspapers
  8. spell — magic
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. race — humankind
  15. chest — of your body
  16. dip — to sink
  17. squash — to crush
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. press — to push
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. press — a publisher
  24. cold — not warm

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