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 116 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: row · wind · trunk · rush · spring · kick · press · patient

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. spring — the season
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spring — of water
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wind — moving air
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kick — in football
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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