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: bear · stick · clip · march · press · cell · face · court

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. face — to confront
  3. bear — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. march — the month
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. press — a publisher
  11. court — of law
  12. press — to push
  13. court — for sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. press — newspapers
  19. court — of a king
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — a video
  23. march — music
  24. clip — to cut

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